I stared at the Emperor, who was now an empty shell.
It was too vain and tragic to be the death of a man who once commanded an empire so feared by all.
This is the end result of betraying and slaughtering his loyal subjects who followed him out of fear of death.
As I looked at the body of the Emperor, who could not even close his eyes properly, the events of the dozen or so years of revenge flashed before my eyes.
The endless, horrifying screams, the half-burned body of the mother coming out of the mansion covered in red flames, and the new life that began as Elizabeth were vividly depicted as if they were engraved in the bones.
It's finally over.
Revenge that seemed like it would never end...
The tremors that started at my fingertips soon spread throughout my body.
I could not tell whether the trembling was caused by the Emperor's impulsive actions or by the death of the man I had longed for.
Just an inexplicable sense of liberation and endless emptiness began to wash over me like waves.
"Ah."
It was then that a short sigh was suddenly heard from behind.
I turned my head, coming to my senses at the sound that was completely different from the situation going on.
Then Deborah, whose face was so pale that it almost turned white, began to back away little by little.
Deborah, who had come out of the barracks, looked at me with trembling eyes.
I narrowed my eyes as my sky-blue eyes met his gaze in the air.
I knew what Deborah's eyes meant.
Deborah was now terrified.
'What on earth is going on?'
What reason could there be to be afraid of the death of the Emperor?
But that thought was fleeting, as the Emperor's last words suddenly came to my mind.
“Come with me, Deborah.”
I was so shocked by the thought of the Emperor putting a sword into his own heart that I momentarily forgot he had said such a thing.
Why did he say such absurd things when he committed suicide?
It was at this point that my eyebrows furrowed even deeper as if I was missing something important.
Only then did I realize what I had missed and take a deep breath.
'No way...'
Then I looked at Deborah with eyes that were bigger than before.
“Deborah, did the Emperor say something earlier…”
“...I guess I let my guard down too much”
Deborah continued, stuttering.
“When the Emperor asked me to tell him the prophecy of his death, I should have just ignored him.”
Deborah underestimated the power of the word prophecy.
She ended up letting her guard down in the complacent thought that everything was over.
“I really thought the former Emperor wouldn't commit suicide...”
A taboo of the Oroz family that states that anyone who makes a false prophecy will die.
"Let me make one last prediction. When will I die? Now? Or tonight? Or tomorrow?"
"At least not now."
The Emperor thought of the taboo in a short time and planned to kill Deborah with it. By paying the price of his own life, which was already going to die anyway.
"Not 'now'... Very good."
“Come with me, Deborah.”
The Emperor's last voice before he died seemed to echo in my ears.
“Lady Bellona, I... Cough.”
But Deborah couldn't finish her sentence.
Because hot blood poured out of her mouth.
Knock, knock.
The red blood that burst from Deborah's mouth covered the floor, melting the frozen snow.
The hot blood sprinkled on the cold ground was so foreign.
There was a long, heavy silence.
Bellona barely managed to summon the strength to call Deborah.
“…Deborah?”
But what came back was not an answer, but a violent cough that felt like it would vomit out all of her organs.
The power of the Oroz family was much more limited than that of other families.
The biggest limitation was that if a false prophecy was made, the person who made the prophecy would die, no matter what.
No one knew when he would die. It could be a week after he made his prophecy, or a month after, or it could be right after he made his prophecy.
Just like right now.
“Cough, cough!”
Deborah, unable to control her body, fell forward.
A ghastly red stream of blood was oozing out of every hole in her body.
Only then did I come to my senses and go to the fallen Deborah, holding her in my arms. Then I called Karsis.
"Carsis! Deborah...!"
But a cold, cooling hand wrapped around my hand and stopped me.
“No, there's no need...”
The damage incurred by breaking the taboo of power could not be recovered even by Clepius' power.
I didn't know this either. But even so, I didn't want to give up. Because no more...
'I don't want to see you.'
I didn't want to see anyone die anymore.
Even if it was someone you once hated.
Her pink hair, which seemed to taste sweet, was messily tangled, and her skin, which was as white as snow, was gradually turning purple.
The field stared at me, who was looking down at Deborah, who was holding her breath. Then, she carefully brought out the truth she had not been able to express until now.
"I'm sorry... because of me and my mother... your life was ruined."
That was what Deborah most wanted to say to Bellona.But still, Deborah sincerely wanted to apologize to her.
She thought maybe she would criticize him for saying that he was just trying to make himself feel better.
On behalf of her deceased mother, she would like to express her gratitude and apologies to her for shouldering the tragedy she had to endure.
“You...resented me?”
Bellona, who had been silent at her question, opened her mouth softly.
“Deborah, I...”
I don't hate you anymore, I should say.
I couldn't bring myself to open my mouth.
But time is running out.
Finally, the time has come to convey this sincerity.
Bellona bit her lips once, which were not moving as she wanted and barely managed to spit out her words.
“I don't hate you...”
Bellona's throat was choked up as she spoke her true feelings.
Deborah, who seemed slightly surprised at the words that she didn't hate her, smiled faintly. Then she muttered softly.
'Thank god.'
...She said.
Bellona bit her lip at her own inability to do anything.
Deborah then lifted her hand, which was gradually losing strength, and cupped Bellona's cheek, which looked like it might burst into tears at any moment.
"Don't be sad. We'll meet again."
As if she understood her feelings.
“I had a dream that... Hazel, you and I... all gathered in one place, having a good conversation, drinking tea.”
Deborah relayed to Bellona the prophecy of Oroz that she had last seen.
Gathering all her strength, she gives one last smile.
"I go first. I'll wait."
With those words, Deborah's body suddenly lost all its strength.
White snow fell on Deborah's hand as it fell to the floor.
Ah. In the end...
Bellona lifted her head, which had been facing downwards, and looked up at the sky.
“It's snowing...”
The snow that had stopped for a moment came out into the world again and began to pile up little by little.
She held and released the snowflakes that were falling on her white hands.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the snow melted and disappeared, leaving behind only small water droplets.
Bellona looked at it and smiled bitterly.
"Snow is so vain. It falls so heavily as if it could cover the whole world, but then it melts away so vainly."
It's all over.
Her revenge, and the lives of those who loved her...
The snowflakes that fell on Bellona's cheeks melted away.
Truly vain.
A leisurely afternoon with warm sunlight streaming down.
The small lake at the eastern end of the palace was one of the most beautiful places in spring thanks to the cherry blossom trees that surrounded it.
And on a boat floating alone in the middle of the lake, a man and a woman were enjoying the spring that had come after a long time, while feeling the wind.
“It's really spring.”
Bellona sang softly, sweeping her hands over the pink cherry blossom petals floating on the lake.
It's already been two years.
After a long fight, two winters passed and two springs came.
The empire that had suffered a single pain became stronger like the ground that hardened after rain, and green shoots began to sprout vigorously on the cold, frozen ground.
“Time really flies.”
Upon his return from Hamelon, Carsis immediately proclaimed the birth of a new empire and put an end to the old evils.
As the information broker Linnaeus, who had been dealing with the entertainment of the nobles, was revealed to have aided this rebellion, Isaac became the center of the empire's new merchant class and acquired enormous financial power.
In addition, Carsis strengthened his imperial power by exploiting the weaknesses of the nobles who were hostile to him based on the information and financial power of Linneaus.
The place that had been reduced to ruins due to civil war was gradually regaining its original appearance.
As the empire quickly recovered, the number of people who supported Carsis, who had been questioning his qualifications as Emperor, began to increase.
And the person who received as much support as Carsis was Bellona, the Duke of Jupiter and a possible successor to the throne.
She won the support of the common people by promoting a plan to compensate those who suffered in the civil war with the confiscated properties of nobles, which led to people waiting for the couple's national wedding.
“I heard that the issue of the Empress came up again at today's meeting.”
Bellona asked Carsis in a calm voice.
It wasn't just commoners who wanted the two to unite.
The new Emperor was, to put it nicely, rational and realistic, but he had a coldness that made it seem like he wouldn't bleed even if he was stabbed with a sword and an inexplicable sense of intimidation. That's why the nobles who encountered Carsis all found him difficult and fearful.
However, when such a man is with Bellona, the atmosphere becomes more relaxed, so to the nobles, Bellona is like a neutralizer.
But for some reason, the two did not plan on having a state marriage, so the nobles began to submit petitions every day, saying that they could no longer leave the position of Empress vacant.
Bellona smiled, finding such nobles amusing.
It was too vain and tragic to be the death of a man who once commanded an empire so feared by all.
This is the end result of betraying and slaughtering his loyal subjects who followed him out of fear of death.
As I looked at the body of the Emperor, who could not even close his eyes properly, the events of the dozen or so years of revenge flashed before my eyes.
The endless, horrifying screams, the half-burned body of the mother coming out of the mansion covered in red flames, and the new life that began as Elizabeth were vividly depicted as if they were engraved in the bones.
It's finally over.
Revenge that seemed like it would never end...
The tremors that started at my fingertips soon spread throughout my body.
I could not tell whether the trembling was caused by the Emperor's impulsive actions or by the death of the man I had longed for.
Just an inexplicable sense of liberation and endless emptiness began to wash over me like waves.
"Ah."
It was then that a short sigh was suddenly heard from behind.
I turned my head, coming to my senses at the sound that was completely different from the situation going on.
Then Deborah, whose face was so pale that it almost turned white, began to back away little by little.
Deborah, who had come out of the barracks, looked at me with trembling eyes.
I narrowed my eyes as my sky-blue eyes met his gaze in the air.
I knew what Deborah's eyes meant.
Deborah was now terrified.
'What on earth is going on?'
What reason could there be to be afraid of the death of the Emperor?
But that thought was fleeting, as the Emperor's last words suddenly came to my mind.
“Come with me, Deborah.”
I was so shocked by the thought of the Emperor putting a sword into his own heart that I momentarily forgot he had said such a thing.
Why did he say such absurd things when he committed suicide?
It was at this point that my eyebrows furrowed even deeper as if I was missing something important.
Only then did I realize what I had missed and take a deep breath.
'No way...'
Then I looked at Deborah with eyes that were bigger than before.
“Deborah, did the Emperor say something earlier…”
“...I guess I let my guard down too much”
Deborah continued, stuttering.
“When the Emperor asked me to tell him the prophecy of his death, I should have just ignored him.”
Deborah underestimated the power of the word prophecy.
She ended up letting her guard down in the complacent thought that everything was over.
“I really thought the former Emperor wouldn't commit suicide...”
A taboo of the Oroz family that states that anyone who makes a false prophecy will die.
"Let me make one last prediction. When will I die? Now? Or tonight? Or tomorrow?"
"At least not now."
The Emperor thought of the taboo in a short time and planned to kill Deborah with it. By paying the price of his own life, which was already going to die anyway.
"Not 'now'... Very good."
“Come with me, Deborah.”
The Emperor's last voice before he died seemed to echo in my ears.
“Lady Bellona, I... Cough.”
But Deborah couldn't finish her sentence.
Because hot blood poured out of her mouth.
Knock, knock.
The red blood that burst from Deborah's mouth covered the floor, melting the frozen snow.
The hot blood sprinkled on the cold ground was so foreign.
There was a long, heavy silence.
Bellona barely managed to summon the strength to call Deborah.
“…Deborah?”
But what came back was not an answer, but a violent cough that felt like it would vomit out all of her organs.
The power of the Oroz family was much more limited than that of other families.
The biggest limitation was that if a false prophecy was made, the person who made the prophecy would die, no matter what.
No one knew when he would die. It could be a week after he made his prophecy, or a month after, or it could be right after he made his prophecy.
Just like right now.
“Cough, cough!”
Deborah, unable to control her body, fell forward.
A ghastly red stream of blood was oozing out of every hole in her body.
Only then did I come to my senses and go to the fallen Deborah, holding her in my arms. Then I called Karsis.
"Carsis! Deborah...!"
But a cold, cooling hand wrapped around my hand and stopped me.
“No, there's no need...”
The damage incurred by breaking the taboo of power could not be recovered even by Clepius' power.
I didn't know this either. But even so, I didn't want to give up. Because no more...
'I don't want to see you.'
I didn't want to see anyone die anymore.
Even if it was someone you once hated.
Her pink hair, which seemed to taste sweet, was messily tangled, and her skin, which was as white as snow, was gradually turning purple.
The field stared at me, who was looking down at Deborah, who was holding her breath. Then, she carefully brought out the truth she had not been able to express until now.
"I'm sorry... because of me and my mother... your life was ruined."
That was what Deborah most wanted to say to Bellona.But still, Deborah sincerely wanted to apologize to her.
She thought maybe she would criticize him for saying that he was just trying to make himself feel better.
On behalf of her deceased mother, she would like to express her gratitude and apologies to her for shouldering the tragedy she had to endure.
“You...resented me?”
Bellona, who had been silent at her question, opened her mouth softly.
“Deborah, I...”
I don't hate you anymore, I should say.
I couldn't bring myself to open my mouth.
But time is running out.
Finally, the time has come to convey this sincerity.
Bellona bit her lips once, which were not moving as she wanted and barely managed to spit out her words.
“I don't hate you...”
Bellona's throat was choked up as she spoke her true feelings.
Deborah, who seemed slightly surprised at the words that she didn't hate her, smiled faintly. Then she muttered softly.
'Thank god.'
...She said.
Bellona bit her lip at her own inability to do anything.
Deborah then lifted her hand, which was gradually losing strength, and cupped Bellona's cheek, which looked like it might burst into tears at any moment.
"Don't be sad. We'll meet again."
As if she understood her feelings.
“I had a dream that... Hazel, you and I... all gathered in one place, having a good conversation, drinking tea.”
Deborah relayed to Bellona the prophecy of Oroz that she had last seen.
Gathering all her strength, she gives one last smile.
"I go first. I'll wait."
With those words, Deborah's body suddenly lost all its strength.
White snow fell on Deborah's hand as it fell to the floor.
Ah. In the end...
Bellona lifted her head, which had been facing downwards, and looked up at the sky.
“It's snowing...”
The snow that had stopped for a moment came out into the world again and began to pile up little by little.
She held and released the snowflakes that were falling on her white hands.
Then, in the blink of an eye, the snow melted and disappeared, leaving behind only small water droplets.
Bellona looked at it and smiled bitterly.
"Snow is so vain. It falls so heavily as if it could cover the whole world, but then it melts away so vainly."
It's all over.
Her revenge, and the lives of those who loved her...
The snowflakes that fell on Bellona's cheeks melted away.
Truly vain.
***
A leisurely afternoon with warm sunlight streaming down.
The small lake at the eastern end of the palace was one of the most beautiful places in spring thanks to the cherry blossom trees that surrounded it.
And on a boat floating alone in the middle of the lake, a man and a woman were enjoying the spring that had come after a long time, while feeling the wind.
“It's really spring.”
Bellona sang softly, sweeping her hands over the pink cherry blossom petals floating on the lake.
It's already been two years.
After a long fight, two winters passed and two springs came.
The empire that had suffered a single pain became stronger like the ground that hardened after rain, and green shoots began to sprout vigorously on the cold, frozen ground.
“Time really flies.”
Upon his return from Hamelon, Carsis immediately proclaimed the birth of a new empire and put an end to the old evils.
As the information broker Linnaeus, who had been dealing with the entertainment of the nobles, was revealed to have aided this rebellion, Isaac became the center of the empire's new merchant class and acquired enormous financial power.
In addition, Carsis strengthened his imperial power by exploiting the weaknesses of the nobles who were hostile to him based on the information and financial power of Linneaus.
The place that had been reduced to ruins due to civil war was gradually regaining its original appearance.
As the empire quickly recovered, the number of people who supported Carsis, who had been questioning his qualifications as Emperor, began to increase.
And the person who received as much support as Carsis was Bellona, the Duke of Jupiter and a possible successor to the throne.
She won the support of the common people by promoting a plan to compensate those who suffered in the civil war with the confiscated properties of nobles, which led to people waiting for the couple's national wedding.
“I heard that the issue of the Empress came up again at today's meeting.”
Bellona asked Carsis in a calm voice.
It wasn't just commoners who wanted the two to unite.
The new Emperor was, to put it nicely, rational and realistic, but he had a coldness that made it seem like he wouldn't bleed even if he was stabbed with a sword and an inexplicable sense of intimidation. That's why the nobles who encountered Carsis all found him difficult and fearful.
However, when such a man is with Bellona, the atmosphere becomes more relaxed, so to the nobles, Bellona is like a neutralizer.
But for some reason, the two did not plan on having a state marriage, so the nobles began to submit petitions every day, saying that they could no longer leave the position of Empress vacant.
Bellona smiled, finding such nobles amusing.
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