“Where are you going?”
I was about to go down the stairs when I ran into Commander Macrom, who was coming up the stairs three at a time.
"Ah... I just wanted to go for a walk...?”
The end of my sentence was raised sharply.
It was as if I was confessing that I wasn’t out for a walk.
“Please go in for a moment. I have something to tell you.”
“What’s going on? Can’t I hear from you in 30 minutes? No, in 10 minutes.”
I could just go to the annex and tell Nelly to go back.
But Commander Macrom was firm.
“The walk isn’t important right now.”
“What’s going on...?”
“I’ll go in and tell you.”
It was already late, so it wouldn’t make much of a difference if I were a few dozen minutes later, right?
I couldn’t even take a single step, so I turned around and went back into my room.
Commander Macrom knocked on the rooms of Empress Elan and Magic Tower Lord, who were staying in the room next to mine and in front of mine, and called them to my room.
“What’s going on?”
Empress Elan asked me as she sat down on her chair.
I just shook my shoulders with a look of confusion in my eyes.
The clock was past ten o’clock.
My heart was getting impatient.
“Macrom, tell me what’s going on now.”
I spoke calmly, deliberately trying not to rush him too much.
Captain Macrom looked at us once in a while and opened his mouth.
“I just met Secretary Raphael.”
“No, where?”
Magic Tower Lord asked, raising one eyebrow.
“He came to my room himself.”
Commander Macrom’s room was located one floor below ours.
“How did Raphael know? Then he knows I’m here?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. A few days ago, he happened to see me and the Master Magic Tower Lord in the square and followed us to the inn where we were staying.”
“Hmm, did he report it to His Majesty?”
“I didn’t know you’d crawl in on your own feet so quickly.”
That bitch, no, Roxana, was the first thing she said when she saw me.
And my first words were these.
“If you come in through the hole, you can crawl in quickly.”
“What?”
“That’s enough. Why did you whip Sharon?”
I asked, glaring at the whip Roxana was holding. I remembered Roxana’s appearance in the Magic Tower Lord's room during the Continental Hunting Competition a month ago.
When I was staying in the Tebello Empire, I had asked Magic Tower Lord about that day.
‘She came to me to ask for healing water in person because Logan was absent. The teleportation was requested from the witch of the Principality of Aklatto.'
And Magic Tower Lord told me about the healing water that Roxana was taking.
I found out that she had been abused by her father, Duke Haymitch, since childhood.
If she didn't take the healing water regularly, the whip scars would appear on her back.
As I listened to that story, I thought it was similar to my situation of taking magic potions.
After hearing the story, I confessed to Magic Tower Lord that I had been secretly suspecting that the Emperor and Roxana had been seeing each other since then.
Magic Tower Lord strongly waved his hand, saying that was absolutely not the case.
However, I felt that there was something more I didn't know.
There were many things I wanted to ask Roxana directly about that day, but Sharon was more important right now.
'There is no Avatar Sword. She hid it in case you came.'
The Avatar inside me said.
The Avatar was right.
Roxana must have known that the Avatar Sword only reacted to me.
“Sharon hid in the dressing room like a thieving cat.”
When I started talking, Roxana also started talking to me.
“But... I heard that there have been quite a few thieving cats in the Empress’s palace recently, besides Sharon?”
“Really? This is the first time I’ve heard of this?”
Roxana shamelessly replied.
What are you pretending not to know, you, you!
You and the people of the Principality of Aklatto.
“Why did you come back to the palace? You were the acting Empress.”
Roxana’s voice became fiercer.
“To watch the remarriage.”
I replied with a smile.
Then Roxana shouted at me with a dirty expression.
“Are you trying to play with me in this situation?”
When Roxana said this, it seemed like my life was in danger.
“Would you be my opponent, even if it was just a theft?”
Since we’re here, it’s do or die anyway.
If I hadn’t come, Sharon would have been beaten for days and died.
Seeing Sharon’s condition now, I was sure of it.
It would be hard to get out of here intact, but at least I was confident that she wouldn’t die at the hands of that woman.
Of course, Commander Macrom and Magic Tower Lord had their horses waiting not far from the Empress’s Palace, and there was a corner that believed that Empress Elan was hiding near the back gate of the Empress’s Palace.
I had strongly warned Moiya not to show up, but it was obvious that he would definitely transform into something and be nearby.
In any case, even if I die here in the worst-case scenario, I’ll get Sharon out of here, and I’ll take Roxana or whatever.
I made that promise.
Roxana showed her true colors, as if she had the same feelings as me.
“No one will know if you die here. No, even if some do, they’ll have no choice but to keep their mouths shut.”
When I nodded my head to the side, she lifted her chin and continued talking.
“Because I’ll soon be the Empress of this country.”
Her confident voice was no joke.
“Who says you can kill people as you please just because you're the empress?”
“?”
“If I'm going to be that picky, when I was the Empress, there must have been dozens of people who’d I would have beheaded?”
“!”
“You don’t know continental law because you’re from an island?”
“You’ve lost your fear!”
Roxana’s facial muscles moved violently, and I could see her whip gripping her hand.
...Hmm, I needed to control myself a little.
At that moment.
“Ah!”
The whip snapped and fell off Sharon’s back.
As I tried to approach Sharon, Roxana raised her hand high to swing her whip at Sharon again.
“You’d better not move. If you don’t want to kill your servant quickly.”
That’s right!
I ran in front of Sharon and caught the whip flying at me with my bare hands.
Roxana’s haughty expression distorted pleasantly.
It was possible because there were only I, Sharon, Roxana, and her servant, who seemed to be her confidant, in the underground space.
Roxana panicked and tried with all her might to pull out the end of the whip I was holding.
“Would you like to have a power struggle with me?”
I looked at her with a calm face, struggling.
Then my sincerity suddenly burst out.
“The way you’re trying so hard right now is just like your life.”
Roxana flinched at my words, but then she glared at me as if she was going to kill me and shouted.
“...It seems like you’re determined to die today, so I’ll let you have it!”
The more Roxana’s anger grew, the more I enjoyed it.
I burst out laughing without realizing it, but the sound of the laughter was creepy even for me.
Was this feeling also an aftereffect of being infected with evil energy?
I deliberately let go of the whip rope I was holding.
Then I slowly approached Sharon.
I felt Roxana and her attendant looking at me with surprised eyes.
'Ugh!'
As expected, this time the whip hit my back.
This was a fight I was going to start after getting hit a few times anyway.
I clenched my molars and endured the pain, lowering my body in front of Sharon.
Sharon was practically bruised.
Her dress was torn to shreds on her back, especially from the whipping, and her wounds were serious.
The heat inside my body was boiling.
The heat that would burn away this space was gathering in the center of my chest.
A small flame rose in my palm.
Sharon shook her head when she saw it.
Although she didn't know what I was going to do, she had a feeling that I was going to cause trouble, so she grabbed my wrist with trembling hands.
Meanwhile, Roxana swung her whip at my back again.
As my body began to heat up, this level of pain became ticklish.
When I turned my head and laughed mockingly,
Roxana’s eyes looked slightly fearful.
“What, what... is there such a crazy thing?!”
Roxana swung her arm wildly and swung the whip down with all her might.
I caught the whip flying at me the third time with my hand again.
I had only had to hit the whip twice.
This time, I snatched the whip out of her hand.
Roxana, who had been running towards me, fell to the floor.
“Miss!”
Her servant was startled and helped her up.
The whip in my hand began to sizzle and burn.
Ah, I can’t let the evidence be destroyed like this.
I let go of the whip and kicked the embers that were slowly burning from where I had been holding it.
Is it my turn now? As I slowly approached Roxana, who was trying to get up from the floor, I heard the voice of the chief chamberlain, Stiane. And then I began to see the silhouette of the Emperor walking briskly towards me from afar. Suddenly, my survival instinct kicked in without me knowing it. I quickly lay down next to Sharon.
Then, she quickly picked up the whip and wrapped it around my body.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty... Don’t do this, please...!”
Sharon, who had collapsed next to me, stopped me in a hoarse voice, tugging at the hem of my dress.
Leave me alone, I’m trying to save myself, too.
“Sharon, tie this. Put it in between, hurry!”
I whispered to Sharon as I held one end of the whip in my hand.
I could wrap it myself, but I couldn’t tie it myself, so I borrowed Sharon’s hand.
Sharon, unable to resist my temper, had no choice but to wrap the remaining whip between the gaps.
But... I think I must have wrapped the whip too tightly.
My torso was so tight that I couldn’t move.
My arms were starting to go numb.
Damn it, my blood is not flowing.
I can’t untie it. What should I do?
“What are you doing!”
I heard the Emperor shout.
I couldn’t tell if the shout was directed at me or Princess Roxana.
I just lay on my side, closed my eyes, and pretended to faint.
Hey, ex-husband. It’s all because of the whip.
No, it’s because of that damn whip owner, just so you know.
‘You... We’ll see!’
I looked up at Roxana with my eyes wide open.
It seemed like Roxana was approaching the Emperor, waving both her hands and saying something to him.
However, I couldn’t hear Roxana’s voice properly; all I could hear was the buzzing in my ears.
I was curious about the Emperor’s face, but I closed my eyes again.
It seemed like someone came up to me and bent down.
“...Hey, you, you? What the hell are you doing here...!”
It was a familiar voice.
It seemed like the voice was trying to get me up from where I was lying.
I was about to go down the stairs when I ran into Commander Macrom, who was coming up the stairs three at a time.
"Ah... I just wanted to go for a walk...?”
The end of my sentence was raised sharply.
It was as if I was confessing that I wasn’t out for a walk.
“Please go in for a moment. I have something to tell you.”
“What’s going on? Can’t I hear from you in 30 minutes? No, in 10 minutes.”
I could just go to the annex and tell Nelly to go back.
But Commander Macrom was firm.
“The walk isn’t important right now.”
“What’s going on...?”
“I’ll go in and tell you.”
It was already late, so it wouldn’t make much of a difference if I were a few dozen minutes later, right?
I couldn’t even take a single step, so I turned around and went back into my room.
Commander Macrom knocked on the rooms of Empress Elan and Magic Tower Lord, who were staying in the room next to mine and in front of mine, and called them to my room.
“What’s going on?”
Empress Elan asked me as she sat down on her chair.
I just shook my shoulders with a look of confusion in my eyes.
The clock was past ten o’clock.
My heart was getting impatient.
“Macrom, tell me what’s going on now.”
I spoke calmly, deliberately trying not to rush him too much.
Captain Macrom looked at us once in a while and opened his mouth.
“I just met Secretary Raphael.”
“No, where?”
Magic Tower Lord asked, raising one eyebrow.
“He came to my room himself.”
Commander Macrom’s room was located one floor below ours.
“How did Raphael know? Then he knows I’m here?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. A few days ago, he happened to see me and the Master Magic Tower Lord in the square and followed us to the inn where we were staying.”
“Hmm, did he report it to His Majesty?”
Magic Tower Lord asked the Commander, his face darkening.
“He hasn’t told you yet. And the atmosphere in the palace is just as Her Majesty the Empress heard from Her Highness Rosie and Sharon.”
Commander Macrom added cautiously, watching my expression.
“Your Majesty... is much worse off than I thought.”
Everyone seemed to think I was curious about how the Emperor was doing, but that wasn’t the case at all.
I just nodded my head and smiled awkwardly.
My eyes were on the wall clock.
Five minutes past ten, and ten minutes more, my attention was drawn to the clock hands.
Is Nelly wondering why I haven’t come yet?
How long will he wait?
If I don’t see him today, it’ll be the end.
He’s going to remarry anyway.
But what did he say that I absolutely had to hear?
Yesterday, I was so angry and shocked that I didn’t care at all about what he said, but as time went by, my curiosity grew.
If he’s waiting until I visit... Yes, let’s hear what he absolutely had to say.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty? Did you hear?”
“What? What did you say?”
The serious voice of Commander Macrom woke me up from my momentary reverie.
“We were talking about how it would be better to avoid the palace for the time being.”
Magic Tower Lord told me what I had missed.
“Raphael thinks that it is dangerous for Your Majesty, the Empress, to stay in the palace. And His Majesty has health issues, too.”
Commander Macrom spoke carefully.
“That’s fortunate.”
I blurted out my true feelings without realizing it.
“...He’s not sick, but he seems to have some memory problems.”
Empress Elan and Magic Tower Lord's eyes widened at Commander Macrom’s words.
However, their gazes were clearly different.
If Empress Elan’s gaze was filled with worry, Magic Tower Lord's gaze was filled with confusion.
“He must have amnesia, I guess.”
“He hasn’t told you yet. And the atmosphere in the palace is just as Her Majesty the Empress heard from Her Highness Rosie and Sharon.”
Commander Macrom added cautiously, watching my expression.
“Your Majesty... is much worse off than I thought.”
Everyone seemed to think I was curious about how the Emperor was doing, but that wasn’t the case at all.
I just nodded my head and smiled awkwardly.
My eyes were on the wall clock.
Five minutes past ten, and ten minutes more, my attention was drawn to the clock hands.
Is Nelly wondering why I haven’t come yet?
How long will he wait?
If I don’t see him today, it’ll be the end.
He’s going to remarry anyway.
But what did he say that I absolutely had to hear?
Yesterday, I was so angry and shocked that I didn’t care at all about what he said, but as time went by, my curiosity grew.
If he’s waiting until I visit... Yes, let’s hear what he absolutely had to say.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty? Did you hear?”
“What? What did you say?”
The serious voice of Commander Macrom woke me up from my momentary reverie.
“We were talking about how it would be better to avoid the palace for the time being.”
Magic Tower Lord told me what I had missed.
“Raphael thinks that it is dangerous for Your Majesty, the Empress, to stay in the palace. And His Majesty has health issues, too.”
Commander Macrom spoke carefully.
“That’s fortunate.”
I blurted out my true feelings without realizing it.
“...He’s not sick, but he seems to have some memory problems.”
Empress Elan and Magic Tower Lord's eyes widened at Commander Macrom’s words.
However, their gazes were clearly different.
If Empress Elan’s gaze was filled with worry, Magic Tower Lord's gaze was filled with confusion.
“He must have amnesia, I guess.”
What’s the big deal?
I had completely lost my memory of the Emperor.
“I guess His Majesty has no memory of Your Majesty the Empress either.”
“!”
I flinched for a moment, then burst out laughing at Commander Macrom’s words, which were so absurd.
After hearing the Commander's words, Magic Tower Lord rubbed his forehead with his hand, and Empress Elan asked Commander Macrom instead of me.
“Is that true? Why did His Majesty lose Her Majesty’s memories?”
“Even Raphael doesn’t know the reason. He guessed that it was because he was extremely stressed out after we left the monastery and the Allied Forces appeared.”
Commander Macrom said with a pitying tone.
Could it be that he wanted to start anew with Princess Roxana and just pretended to not remember me to everyone?
There must be quite a few people around the Emperor, but it was funny that I was the only one who didn’t remember.
Since both of us had lost our memories of each other, my resentment seemed to have eased a little.
Contrary to my feelings, the atmosphere calmed down.
Although I, the person involved, was fine, the three of them couldn’t speak to me because they were watching my mood.
“As Secretary Raphael said, I think it would be better to leave the palace for a while and observe the situation.”
Magic Tower Lord, whose expression was the worst among us, spoke first.
“His Majesty's memory of the Empress has disappeared, so I don’t know how you’ll react when it’s known that you’re in the palace. So for now...”
“Understood. Let’s leave the palace until just before the remarriage ceremony.”
I said, looking at the wall clock.
It had already been an hour and a half since the time we had agreed to meet.
“The sooner the better. How about moving after lunch?”
Everyone nodded at the Magic Tower Lord's suggestion.
“Then I’ll go for a short walk...”
As I was getting up from my chair first, a pigeon flew in through the terrace door.
“Master, master!”
Moiya returned to his normal self and called out to me in a serious voice, unusually for his usual self.
“Moiya, are you sleeping at Rosie’s residence?”
“Yes, after a long time sleeping on Aoshi’s back, I slept soundly... No, this is not it. We’re in trouble! We’re in trouble!”
Moiya, who is usually playful, was quite serious.
“Why did you find a delicious sausage shop?”
“No, my sausage line is about to break!”
“Huh?”
“Sharon, Sharon is getting beaten up by that woman, Roxana, right now!”
“...What?! Speak clearly. What do you mean?”
“Sharon sneaked into the Empress’s dressing room and got caught, Moiya~!”
“Why did Sharon suddenly go there?”
“Actually... the great Moiya found out yesterday that the Incarnation Sword was in that dressing room...”
“Sharon heard that and went in there alone and got caught by Roxana?”
I felt like the sky was falling down.
My legs gave out and I slumped down on my chair.
“You can’t go, Your Majesty!”
“Yes, it could be a ploy to bring Your Majesty the Empress!”
“That’s right, you have to leave the palace right now!”
Three voices poured out at me at once.
“As expected... you’re not going to come?”
No, how can you be impatient after waiting for only an hour and a half?
He had promised himself that he would wait for Dazel here until 9 AM tomorrow anyway.
But to him, every minute felt like an hour.
“Isn’t it possible that she can’t find the inn?”
It was a ridiculous worry.
She was the one who brought him here in the first place, so there was no way she wouldn’t find it.
And since she was a regular, it was even more so.
“Did something happen on the way here?”
Linel banged his forehead with his fist the moment he uttered those words. How could he have such an unlucky thought?
The wound on his head from being hit by an iron bar rang deep inside him.
Yesterday, in a desperate mood, he confessed to her, “I am the Emperor!” as she left.
But she didn’t come back.
All that could be heard in the hallway was her gigantic snort, mocking him.
“Yes, even I find it hard to believe.”
If he had known she would get so excited, he should have just taken her to the main palace, even though it was dangerous.
The last time he saw her was when she went to Rosie’s quarters; she had stepped on the statues embedded in the building and climbed over the terrace.
Yes, instead of going to the courtiers’ quarters, he should have climbed up the outer wall of the main palace building together and entered the bedroom to confess the truth... He felt a deep regret.
He took out his pocket watch again and checked the time.
He was anxious, but somehow he felt that Dazel would come even if it was late.
Even if she came and slapped his cheek repeatedly or kicked his shin, he would gladly welcome her as long as she came.
Knock knock!
Finally, a knock was heard.
She came. She came!
Linel didn’t even ask who shr was, and as soon as he opened the door, he hugged her tightly.
‘Hmm?’
The body of Dazel in his arms was strangely thick.
“Your Majesty, it’s me.”
The one who knocked was not her, but Raphael.
“...I thought I told you to return to the palace first when you’re done with your business?”
He pushed Raphael away with both hands and closed the door again.
“Now, wait a minute, I have something urgent to tell you! ”
Raphael shouted, quickly sticking his face between the closing doors.
“Say it.”
He exhaled deeply and opened the door again.
“Your Majesty, you must return to the palace immediately!”
“My business is not over yet.”
“Now is not the time to wait for a woman you met in passing at a tavern!”
Raphael raised his voice, tapping his clothes.
Linel narrowed her eyes at Raphael’s unusual urging.
It seemed like something urgent had come up at the palace...
Even so, meeting her was the most important thing to Linel.
“Let the competent secretary handle it. Get out of here,”
He said, and Raphael stood with his back to the door and shouted.
“The Empress has gone to the palace!”
“The Empress?”
Linel doubted his ears.
“...The acting Empress?”
I had completely lost my memory of the Emperor.
“I guess His Majesty has no memory of Your Majesty the Empress either.”
“!”
I flinched for a moment, then burst out laughing at Commander Macrom’s words, which were so absurd.
After hearing the Commander's words, Magic Tower Lord rubbed his forehead with his hand, and Empress Elan asked Commander Macrom instead of me.
“Is that true? Why did His Majesty lose Her Majesty’s memories?”
“Even Raphael doesn’t know the reason. He guessed that it was because he was extremely stressed out after we left the monastery and the Allied Forces appeared.”
Commander Macrom said with a pitying tone.
Could it be that he wanted to start anew with Princess Roxana and just pretended to not remember me to everyone?
There must be quite a few people around the Emperor, but it was funny that I was the only one who didn’t remember.
Since both of us had lost our memories of each other, my resentment seemed to have eased a little.
Contrary to my feelings, the atmosphere calmed down.
Although I, the person involved, was fine, the three of them couldn’t speak to me because they were watching my mood.
“As Secretary Raphael said, I think it would be better to leave the palace for a while and observe the situation.”
Magic Tower Lord, whose expression was the worst among us, spoke first.
“His Majesty's memory of the Empress has disappeared, so I don’t know how you’ll react when it’s known that you’re in the palace. So for now...”
“Understood. Let’s leave the palace until just before the remarriage ceremony.”
I said, looking at the wall clock.
It had already been an hour and a half since the time we had agreed to meet.
“The sooner the better. How about moving after lunch?”
Everyone nodded at the Magic Tower Lord's suggestion.
“Then I’ll go for a short walk...”
As I was getting up from my chair first, a pigeon flew in through the terrace door.
“Master, master!”
Moiya returned to his normal self and called out to me in a serious voice, unusually for his usual self.
“Moiya, are you sleeping at Rosie’s residence?”
“Yes, after a long time sleeping on Aoshi’s back, I slept soundly... No, this is not it. We’re in trouble! We’re in trouble!”
Moiya, who is usually playful, was quite serious.
“Why did you find a delicious sausage shop?”
“No, my sausage line is about to break!”
“Huh?”
“Sharon, Sharon is getting beaten up by that woman, Roxana, right now!”
“...What?! Speak clearly. What do you mean?”
“Sharon sneaked into the Empress’s dressing room and got caught, Moiya~!”
“Why did Sharon suddenly go there?”
“Actually... the great Moiya found out yesterday that the Incarnation Sword was in that dressing room...”
“Sharon heard that and went in there alone and got caught by Roxana?”
I felt like the sky was falling down.
My legs gave out and I slumped down on my chair.
“You can’t go, Your Majesty!”
“Yes, it could be a ploy to bring Your Majesty the Empress!”
“That’s right, you have to leave the palace right now!”
Three voices poured out at me at once.
***
“As expected... you’re not going to come?”
No, how can you be impatient after waiting for only an hour and a half?
He had promised himself that he would wait for Dazel here until 9 AM tomorrow anyway.
But to him, every minute felt like an hour.
“Isn’t it possible that she can’t find the inn?”
It was a ridiculous worry.
She was the one who brought him here in the first place, so there was no way she wouldn’t find it.
And since she was a regular, it was even more so.
“Did something happen on the way here?”
Linel banged his forehead with his fist the moment he uttered those words. How could he have such an unlucky thought?
The wound on his head from being hit by an iron bar rang deep inside him.
Yesterday, in a desperate mood, he confessed to her, “I am the Emperor!” as she left.
But she didn’t come back.
All that could be heard in the hallway was her gigantic snort, mocking him.
“Yes, even I find it hard to believe.”
If he had known she would get so excited, he should have just taken her to the main palace, even though it was dangerous.
The last time he saw her was when she went to Rosie’s quarters; she had stepped on the statues embedded in the building and climbed over the terrace.
Yes, instead of going to the courtiers’ quarters, he should have climbed up the outer wall of the main palace building together and entered the bedroom to confess the truth... He felt a deep regret.
He took out his pocket watch again and checked the time.
He was anxious, but somehow he felt that Dazel would come even if it was late.
Even if she came and slapped his cheek repeatedly or kicked his shin, he would gladly welcome her as long as she came.
Knock knock!
Finally, a knock was heard.
She came. She came!
Linel didn’t even ask who shr was, and as soon as he opened the door, he hugged her tightly.
‘Hmm?’
The body of Dazel in his arms was strangely thick.
“Your Majesty, it’s me.”
The one who knocked was not her, but Raphael.
“...I thought I told you to return to the palace first when you’re done with your business?”
He pushed Raphael away with both hands and closed the door again.
“Now, wait a minute, I have something urgent to tell you! ”
Raphael shouted, quickly sticking his face between the closing doors.
“Say it.”
He exhaled deeply and opened the door again.
“Your Majesty, you must return to the palace immediately!”
“My business is not over yet.”
“Now is not the time to wait for a woman you met in passing at a tavern!”
Raphael raised his voice, tapping his clothes.
Linel narrowed her eyes at Raphael’s unusual urging.
It seemed like something urgent had come up at the palace...
Even so, meeting her was the most important thing to Linel.
“Let the competent secretary handle it. Get out of here,”
He said, and Raphael stood with his back to the door and shouted.
“The Empress has gone to the palace!”
“The Empress?”
Linel doubted his ears.
“...The acting Empress?”
***
“I didn’t know you’d crawl in on your own feet so quickly.”
That bitch, no, Roxana, was the first thing she said when she saw me.
And my first words were these.
“If you come in through the hole, you can crawl in quickly.”
“What?”
“That’s enough. Why did you whip Sharon?”
I asked, glaring at the whip Roxana was holding. I remembered Roxana’s appearance in the Magic Tower Lord's room during the Continental Hunting Competition a month ago.
When I was staying in the Tebello Empire, I had asked Magic Tower Lord about that day.
‘She came to me to ask for healing water in person because Logan was absent. The teleportation was requested from the witch of the Principality of Aklatto.'
And Magic Tower Lord told me about the healing water that Roxana was taking.
I found out that she had been abused by her father, Duke Haymitch, since childhood.
If she didn't take the healing water regularly, the whip scars would appear on her back.
As I listened to that story, I thought it was similar to my situation of taking magic potions.
After hearing the story, I confessed to Magic Tower Lord that I had been secretly suspecting that the Emperor and Roxana had been seeing each other since then.
Magic Tower Lord strongly waved his hand, saying that was absolutely not the case.
However, I felt that there was something more I didn't know.
There were many things I wanted to ask Roxana directly about that day, but Sharon was more important right now.
'There is no Avatar Sword. She hid it in case you came.'
The Avatar inside me said.
The Avatar was right.
Roxana must have known that the Avatar Sword only reacted to me.
“Sharon hid in the dressing room like a thieving cat.”
When I started talking, Roxana also started talking to me.
“But... I heard that there have been quite a few thieving cats in the Empress’s palace recently, besides Sharon?”
“Really? This is the first time I’ve heard of this?”
Roxana shamelessly replied.
What are you pretending not to know, you, you!
You and the people of the Principality of Aklatto.
“Why did you come back to the palace? You were the acting Empress.”
Roxana’s voice became fiercer.
“To watch the remarriage.”
I replied with a smile.
Then Roxana shouted at me with a dirty expression.
“Are you trying to play with me in this situation?”
When Roxana said this, it seemed like my life was in danger.
“Would you be my opponent, even if it was just a theft?”
Since we’re here, it’s do or die anyway.
If I hadn’t come, Sharon would have been beaten for days and died.
Seeing Sharon’s condition now, I was sure of it.
It would be hard to get out of here intact, but at least I was confident that she wouldn’t die at the hands of that woman.
Of course, Commander Macrom and Magic Tower Lord had their horses waiting not far from the Empress’s Palace, and there was a corner that believed that Empress Elan was hiding near the back gate of the Empress’s Palace.
I had strongly warned Moiya not to show up, but it was obvious that he would definitely transform into something and be nearby.
In any case, even if I die here in the worst-case scenario, I’ll get Sharon out of here, and I’ll take Roxana or whatever.
I made that promise.
Roxana showed her true colors, as if she had the same feelings as me.
“No one will know if you die here. No, even if some do, they’ll have no choice but to keep their mouths shut.”
When I nodded my head to the side, she lifted her chin and continued talking.
“Because I’ll soon be the Empress of this country.”
Her confident voice was no joke.
“Who says you can kill people as you please just because you're the empress?”
“?”
“If I'm going to be that picky, when I was the Empress, there must have been dozens of people who’d I would have beheaded?”
“!”
“You don’t know continental law because you’re from an island?”
“You’ve lost your fear!”
Roxana’s facial muscles moved violently, and I could see her whip gripping her hand.
...Hmm, I needed to control myself a little.
At that moment.
“Ah!”
The whip snapped and fell off Sharon’s back.
As I tried to approach Sharon, Roxana raised her hand high to swing her whip at Sharon again.
“You’d better not move. If you don’t want to kill your servant quickly.”
That’s right!
I ran in front of Sharon and caught the whip flying at me with my bare hands.
Roxana’s haughty expression distorted pleasantly.
It was possible because there were only I, Sharon, Roxana, and her servant, who seemed to be her confidant, in the underground space.
Roxana panicked and tried with all her might to pull out the end of the whip I was holding.
“Would you like to have a power struggle with me?”
I looked at her with a calm face, struggling.
Then my sincerity suddenly burst out.
“The way you’re trying so hard right now is just like your life.”
Roxana flinched at my words, but then she glared at me as if she was going to kill me and shouted.
“...It seems like you’re determined to die today, so I’ll let you have it!”
The more Roxana’s anger grew, the more I enjoyed it.
I burst out laughing without realizing it, but the sound of the laughter was creepy even for me.
Was this feeling also an aftereffect of being infected with evil energy?
I deliberately let go of the whip rope I was holding.
Then I slowly approached Sharon.
I felt Roxana and her attendant looking at me with surprised eyes.
'Ugh!'
As expected, this time the whip hit my back.
This was a fight I was going to start after getting hit a few times anyway.
I clenched my molars and endured the pain, lowering my body in front of Sharon.
Sharon was practically bruised.
Her dress was torn to shreds on her back, especially from the whipping, and her wounds were serious.
The heat inside my body was boiling.
The heat that would burn away this space was gathering in the center of my chest.
A small flame rose in my palm.
Sharon shook her head when she saw it.
Although she didn't know what I was going to do, she had a feeling that I was going to cause trouble, so she grabbed my wrist with trembling hands.
Meanwhile, Roxana swung her whip at my back again.
As my body began to heat up, this level of pain became ticklish.
When I turned my head and laughed mockingly,
Roxana’s eyes looked slightly fearful.
“What, what... is there such a crazy thing?!”
Roxana swung her arm wildly and swung the whip down with all her might.
I caught the whip flying at me the third time with my hand again.
I had only had to hit the whip twice.
This time, I snatched the whip out of her hand.
Roxana, who had been running towards me, fell to the floor.
“Miss!”
Her servant was startled and helped her up.
The whip in my hand began to sizzle and burn.
Ah, I can’t let the evidence be destroyed like this.
I let go of the whip and kicked the embers that were slowly burning from where I had been holding it.
Is it my turn now? As I slowly approached Roxana, who was trying to get up from the floor, I heard the voice of the chief chamberlain, Stiane. And then I began to see the silhouette of the Emperor walking briskly towards me from afar. Suddenly, my survival instinct kicked in without me knowing it. I quickly lay down next to Sharon.
Then, she quickly picked up the whip and wrapped it around my body.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty... Don’t do this, please...!”
Sharon, who had collapsed next to me, stopped me in a hoarse voice, tugging at the hem of my dress.
Leave me alone, I’m trying to save myself, too.
“Sharon, tie this. Put it in between, hurry!”
I whispered to Sharon as I held one end of the whip in my hand.
I could wrap it myself, but I couldn’t tie it myself, so I borrowed Sharon’s hand.
Sharon, unable to resist my temper, had no choice but to wrap the remaining whip between the gaps.
But... I think I must have wrapped the whip too tightly.
My torso was so tight that I couldn’t move.
My arms were starting to go numb.
Damn it, my blood is not flowing.
I can’t untie it. What should I do?
“What are you doing!”
I heard the Emperor shout.
I couldn’t tell if the shout was directed at me or Princess Roxana.
I just lay on my side, closed my eyes, and pretended to faint.
Hey, ex-husband. It’s all because of the whip.
No, it’s because of that damn whip owner, just so you know.
‘You... We’ll see!’
I looked up at Roxana with my eyes wide open.
It seemed like Roxana was approaching the Emperor, waving both her hands and saying something to him.
However, I couldn’t hear Roxana’s voice properly; all I could hear was the buzzing in my ears.
I was curious about the Emperor’s face, but I closed my eyes again.
It seemed like someone came up to me and bent down.
“...Hey, you, you? What the hell are you doing here...!”
It was a familiar voice.
It seemed like the voice was trying to get me up from where I was lying.
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