Kavala was sitting in front of the dressing table, looking in the mirror.
There were two maids at her side, who watched with fear as Kavala stared at her face for hours.
“Wrinkles...”
Kavala muttered, her shoulders shaking.
“I have wrinkles! The area under my eyes is also sunken!”
Her gaze suddenly turned towards her shadow.
“What is this?”
She raised her trembling hand as if something unbelievable had happened and pulled out a strand of hair.
She had white hair.
“What is this...! What is this!”
She screamed as if having a seizure and threw the makeup on the dresser at the mirror without mercy.
Then the mirror broke and shards flew everywhere.
The maids spoke cautiously, not surprised, as if it were something they were used to.
“You’re going to get hurt. We’ll clean it up, so please move to a safe place.”
Kavala glanced at the maids.
“Do I look old to you, too? Am I old and ugly?”
“What are you talking about? Your Majesty, the Empress is so young and beautiful.”
Even after hearing the answer he wanted, Kavala ground her teeth as if she was not satisfied.
"You parrot-like things. You can only answer what I've taught you, right? Huh?"
The maids hurriedly bowed their heads.
"Sorry, sorry. But it's true. You're as dazzlingly beautiful as ever in our eyes!"
“Yes, of course! Your skin is as smooth as a teenager’s, and your hair is so voluminous and beautiful.”
Hearing those words of praise, the momentum of Kavala subsided a little.
"Yes?"
“Yes, yes. Who would have thought that Your Majesty the Empress was nearly sixty years old...?”
One maid said something impatiently, hoping the situation would pass quickly, and another maid hurriedly poked her in the ribs.
But it was already too late.
"What?"
Kavala, who was about to leave the room with a satisfied expression, stopped dead in her tracks.
The maid who had mentioned her age bowed her head deeply in regret.
“Oh, no... I mean...”
"This is outrageous. How many times have I told you not to bring up age in front of me? How dare you make such a mistake? You're crazy!"
Match!
Kavala struck the maid on the cheek.
"Ah!"
The force was so great that the maid screamed and fell to the floor.
The floor was strewn with shards of glass.
Blood flowed from the hand of the maid who was touching the floor.
But Kavala paid no attention and trampled on the hand of the maid with her foot.
“Ah!”
“Lock this bitch up and don’t give her water for three days.”
Then she left the room, grumbling, and headed to her office, pressing her forehead to keep her frown from forming.
“I won’t grow old because of such pitiful things.”
But as she sat down at her desk, the mirror on the desk caught her eye.
Why does my skin look so saggy and unattractive today?
“That’s terrible!”
Kavala, who had been nervously turning the mirror over, was forced to grit her teeth.
“I have to find the Holy Grail... I need the Holy Grail right now!”
No matter how much she thought about it, it was strange that she couldn't find the Holy Grail.
She's almost found all the other jewels that had disappeared along with it.
At this point, it was hard to believe that Dnieper was incompetent.
Kavala's suspicions were directed at Callius.
'It must have been him who stole it, given the timing.'
For a while, he didn't go in and out of the palace under the pretext of having a marriage proposal with Chloe.
There was no way that Callius, searching for the lost Holy Grail, would have let the opportunity to enter the palace pass him by.
'I don't know how he found and stole the magic key to the warehouse, but he's the only one who would do something like that.'
She couldn't just watch Callius any longer.
'I haven't heard from Sernia much, and I have no idea what Chloe is up to, so...'
As a country grows larger, it becomes more difficult for the central government to control the border territories.
As the Empress of the great empire of Arrental, she knew very well that even the most loyal subjects would grow their power in the border regions and plot to betray their King.
'Now I'm the one who's making a fool of myself because I've gone so far away.'
If she learn how to handle a Holy Grail like Ronheim, she will trample on it no matter what excuse they make.
'Chloe's death could be a good excuse to start a war.'
Kavala had no doubt that the curse she had placed on Chloe would work.
'First, let's get the Holy Grail back.'
To do that, it was essential to install a moving magic circle.
The most difficult part of the battle that took Ronheim a dozen years ago was the process of getting Arrental's army to Ronheim Castle through the blizzard and rough roads.
It was no ordinary thing to see armed soldiers marching quickly along the dangerous roads that peddlers and nomads traveled between Ronheim and other regions, carrying bundles of livestock.
Many Arrental soldiers, unaccustomed to the cold and snowy weather, froze to death along the way or slipped and fell off a cliff.
'I should have installed the teleportation magic circle when I captured Ronheim.'
But at the time, she thought all she had to do was steal the Holy Grail, so she just left Ronheim behind and returned.
It was because she didn't know that the Holy Grail was such a difficult object to handle.
At that moment, Dnieper entered the office and reported.
“Sister, the wizards who will be sent to Ronheim from the Magic Tower have arrived.”
"Slowly. Let's go immediately. Tell Sernia to help the wizards move secretly."
Dnieper frowned as if he was reluctant.
“Hasn't it been a while since you've heard from her? Can you trust her?”
Kavala smiled.
"Sernia won't betray me, Dnieper. You know that. She has someone she must protect."
She rose with an elegant gesture and slowly approached Dnieper.
“You know how it feels to have someone to protect.”
Kavala's white, delicate hand gently stroked Dnieper's chin.
Dnieper nodded, looking at Kavala as if possessed.
“Yes. I know better than anyone.”
Kavala looked down at Dnieper's gaze, looking up at him with satisfaction.
Dnieper's bewitched gaze had a great effect in calming Kavala's obsessive thoughts that he looked old and unattractive today.
Kavala, feeling better, gently patted Dnieper on the cheek as if to reassure him.
“Let’s see how Sernia will handle this.”
Dnieper carefully covered Kavala's hand with his own and answered meekly, like an obedient dog.
“Yes, sis.”
The Kavala message flashed in red letters before Sernia's eyes.
Sernia, who had read all the letters, blew them out in her mouth so that no one would see them.
Then the letters lost their luster, scattered like dust, and disappeared into thin air.
It happened in a flash.
"Hs..."
Someone nearby saw the sight and let out a distraught sound.
She wasn't alone. Andrew was by her side.
“So this is how you exchanged messages?”
Andrew complained.
“Have you given it some thought?”
Sernia asked calmly.
A few days ago, Sernia asked Andrew if he would help her carry out the Kavala's commands.
Andrew, who had come to Sernia saying he would do anything for Hillen, realized that he had to take the lead in taking down Ronheim by siding with Kavala and returned home in distress.
And today, just as the message of Kavala arrived, he came to Sernia.
He said fiercely.
"What are you asking? Just because you showed me that doesn't mean you know what I'm going to do, right?"
Then he handed Sernia a small sack inside the iron cage.
It contained bread, clean water, and tools related to black magic that Sernia had brought with her when she left Arrental.
"Ah...!"
Sernia took out bread and water from the sack and stuffed them into her mouth greedily.
Andrew watched it silently.
Sernia looked as if she wanted to eat more bread, but she quickly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and busily spread out the black magic tools in front of her.
Then, out of the blue, she picked up a sharp tool and stabbed herself in an unseen spot on the inside of her arm.
It seemed like this wasn't the first or second time she had done something like this, as the area was already covered in scars from before.
“What are you doing?”
Andrew stood there, startled, glued to the bars.
Sernia told him calmly.
"Black magic originally works through blood. The more powerful and delicate the black magic, the more blood it requires. I will now send a message to Her Majesty the Empress."
The warlock is actually a sorcerer.
The way sorcerers and priests used their powers was similar.
Using blood.
Andrew was convinced, remembering that Callius had used his blood in the sacrifice.
“Is sending a message some great black magic?”
"That's the case. Because I have to carefully control the content, transcending distance and time, so it doesn't get distorted. Still, this isn't a lot of blood. Since Her Majesty has blood, I don't need much of mine."
Sernia tore off the back of what she thought was a mirror and took out a small glass bottle from it.
What was inside was the blood of Kavala.
“Her Majesty the Empress is a very powerful black magician. With her blood, any black magic is possible.”
Andrew looked down at it with a puzzled expression.
“Why are you telling me that?”
Sernia looked up at Andrew.
“I have something to ask you, too.”
“...?”
“Now tell me. About the key to awakening the Holy Grail.”
There were two maids at her side, who watched with fear as Kavala stared at her face for hours.
“Wrinkles...”
Kavala muttered, her shoulders shaking.
“I have wrinkles! The area under my eyes is also sunken!”
Her gaze suddenly turned towards her shadow.
“What is this?”
She raised her trembling hand as if something unbelievable had happened and pulled out a strand of hair.
She had white hair.
“What is this...! What is this!”
She screamed as if having a seizure and threw the makeup on the dresser at the mirror without mercy.
Then the mirror broke and shards flew everywhere.
The maids spoke cautiously, not surprised, as if it were something they were used to.
“You’re going to get hurt. We’ll clean it up, so please move to a safe place.”
Kavala glanced at the maids.
“Do I look old to you, too? Am I old and ugly?”
“What are you talking about? Your Majesty, the Empress is so young and beautiful.”
Even after hearing the answer he wanted, Kavala ground her teeth as if she was not satisfied.
"You parrot-like things. You can only answer what I've taught you, right? Huh?"
The maids hurriedly bowed their heads.
"Sorry, sorry. But it's true. You're as dazzlingly beautiful as ever in our eyes!"
“Yes, of course! Your skin is as smooth as a teenager’s, and your hair is so voluminous and beautiful.”
Hearing those words of praise, the momentum of Kavala subsided a little.
"Yes?"
“Yes, yes. Who would have thought that Your Majesty the Empress was nearly sixty years old...?”
One maid said something impatiently, hoping the situation would pass quickly, and another maid hurriedly poked her in the ribs.
But it was already too late.
"What?"
Kavala, who was about to leave the room with a satisfied expression, stopped dead in her tracks.
The maid who had mentioned her age bowed her head deeply in regret.
“Oh, no... I mean...”
"This is outrageous. How many times have I told you not to bring up age in front of me? How dare you make such a mistake? You're crazy!"
Match!
Kavala struck the maid on the cheek.
"Ah!"
The force was so great that the maid screamed and fell to the floor.
The floor was strewn with shards of glass.
Blood flowed from the hand of the maid who was touching the floor.
But Kavala paid no attention and trampled on the hand of the maid with her foot.
“Ah!”
“Lock this bitch up and don’t give her water for three days.”
Then she left the room, grumbling, and headed to her office, pressing her forehead to keep her frown from forming.
“I won’t grow old because of such pitiful things.”
But as she sat down at her desk, the mirror on the desk caught her eye.
Why does my skin look so saggy and unattractive today?
“That’s terrible!”
Kavala, who had been nervously turning the mirror over, was forced to grit her teeth.
“I have to find the Holy Grail... I need the Holy Grail right now!”
No matter how much she thought about it, it was strange that she couldn't find the Holy Grail.
She's almost found all the other jewels that had disappeared along with it.
At this point, it was hard to believe that Dnieper was incompetent.
Kavala's suspicions were directed at Callius.
'It must have been him who stole it, given the timing.'
For a while, he didn't go in and out of the palace under the pretext of having a marriage proposal with Chloe.
There was no way that Callius, searching for the lost Holy Grail, would have let the opportunity to enter the palace pass him by.
'I don't know how he found and stole the magic key to the warehouse, but he's the only one who would do something like that.'
She couldn't just watch Callius any longer.
'I haven't heard from Sernia much, and I have no idea what Chloe is up to, so...'
As a country grows larger, it becomes more difficult for the central government to control the border territories.
As the Empress of the great empire of Arrental, she knew very well that even the most loyal subjects would grow their power in the border regions and plot to betray their King.
'Now I'm the one who's making a fool of myself because I've gone so far away.'
If she learn how to handle a Holy Grail like Ronheim, she will trample on it no matter what excuse they make.
'Chloe's death could be a good excuse to start a war.'
Kavala had no doubt that the curse she had placed on Chloe would work.
'First, let's get the Holy Grail back.'
To do that, it was essential to install a moving magic circle.
The most difficult part of the battle that took Ronheim a dozen years ago was the process of getting Arrental's army to Ronheim Castle through the blizzard and rough roads.
It was no ordinary thing to see armed soldiers marching quickly along the dangerous roads that peddlers and nomads traveled between Ronheim and other regions, carrying bundles of livestock.
Many Arrental soldiers, unaccustomed to the cold and snowy weather, froze to death along the way or slipped and fell off a cliff.
'I should have installed the teleportation magic circle when I captured Ronheim.'
But at the time, she thought all she had to do was steal the Holy Grail, so she just left Ronheim behind and returned.
It was because she didn't know that the Holy Grail was such a difficult object to handle.
At that moment, Dnieper entered the office and reported.
“Sister, the wizards who will be sent to Ronheim from the Magic Tower have arrived.”
"Slowly. Let's go immediately. Tell Sernia to help the wizards move secretly."
Dnieper frowned as if he was reluctant.
“Hasn't it been a while since you've heard from her? Can you trust her?”
Kavala smiled.
"Sernia won't betray me, Dnieper. You know that. She has someone she must protect."
She rose with an elegant gesture and slowly approached Dnieper.
“You know how it feels to have someone to protect.”
Kavala's white, delicate hand gently stroked Dnieper's chin.
Dnieper nodded, looking at Kavala as if possessed.
“Yes. I know better than anyone.”
Kavala looked down at Dnieper's gaze, looking up at him with satisfaction.
Dnieper's bewitched gaze had a great effect in calming Kavala's obsessive thoughts that he looked old and unattractive today.
Kavala, feeling better, gently patted Dnieper on the cheek as if to reassure him.
“Let’s see how Sernia will handle this.”
Dnieper carefully covered Kavala's hand with his own and answered meekly, like an obedient dog.
“Yes, sis.”
***
The Kavala message flashed in red letters before Sernia's eyes.
Sernia, who had read all the letters, blew them out in her mouth so that no one would see them.
Then the letters lost their luster, scattered like dust, and disappeared into thin air.
It happened in a flash.
"Hs..."
Someone nearby saw the sight and let out a distraught sound.
She wasn't alone. Andrew was by her side.
“So this is how you exchanged messages?”
Andrew complained.
“Have you given it some thought?”
Sernia asked calmly.
A few days ago, Sernia asked Andrew if he would help her carry out the Kavala's commands.
Andrew, who had come to Sernia saying he would do anything for Hillen, realized that he had to take the lead in taking down Ronheim by siding with Kavala and returned home in distress.
And today, just as the message of Kavala arrived, he came to Sernia.
He said fiercely.
"What are you asking? Just because you showed me that doesn't mean you know what I'm going to do, right?"
Then he handed Sernia a small sack inside the iron cage.
It contained bread, clean water, and tools related to black magic that Sernia had brought with her when she left Arrental.
"Ah...!"
Sernia took out bread and water from the sack and stuffed them into her mouth greedily.
Andrew watched it silently.
Sernia looked as if she wanted to eat more bread, but she quickly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and busily spread out the black magic tools in front of her.
Then, out of the blue, she picked up a sharp tool and stabbed herself in an unseen spot on the inside of her arm.
It seemed like this wasn't the first or second time she had done something like this, as the area was already covered in scars from before.
“What are you doing?”
Andrew stood there, startled, glued to the bars.
Sernia told him calmly.
"Black magic originally works through blood. The more powerful and delicate the black magic, the more blood it requires. I will now send a message to Her Majesty the Empress."
The warlock is actually a sorcerer.
The way sorcerers and priests used their powers was similar.
Using blood.
Andrew was convinced, remembering that Callius had used his blood in the sacrifice.
“Is sending a message some great black magic?”
"That's the case. Because I have to carefully control the content, transcending distance and time, so it doesn't get distorted. Still, this isn't a lot of blood. Since Her Majesty has blood, I don't need much of mine."
Sernia tore off the back of what she thought was a mirror and took out a small glass bottle from it.
What was inside was the blood of Kavala.
“Her Majesty the Empress is a very powerful black magician. With her blood, any black magic is possible.”
Andrew looked down at it with a puzzled expression.
“Why are you telling me that?”
Sernia looked up at Andrew.
“I have something to ask you, too.”
“...?”
“Now tell me. About the key to awakening the Holy Grail.”
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