Calix muttered softly at Odelia's fierce intensity, which felt like she was striking him with her eyes.
“Hey.”
A faint smile crossed Calix's lips as he said that.
As he did so, he carefully reached out his hand to her disheveled hair.
The touch of the hand slowly untangling the roughly matted hair and arranging it neatly was surprisingly delicate.
Every time that touch reached her, Odelia felt her heart pound as if it were trembling along with her fingertips.
"...Calix."
Odelia slightly raised her head and carefully rested her cheek against the back of his hand.
Did the warmth, the heart, travel through their touching skin? Odelia and Calix met each other intently in the eye and remained silent for a while.
"Never again..."
Breaking the silence, Odelia’s voice cracked.
"Please never do that again. Do not put your life at risk. I beg you."
Calix's fingertips froze for a moment, then slowly stroked her hair.
That gaze held both cold determination and a deeper compassion.
"... Yes."
It was a short answer, but that single word contained all the determination.
The two people's gazes met.
Even in the cold prison, their breaths permeated each other strangely warmly. For that moment, all the conspiracies and chaos of the world vanished far away, as if only the two of them existed in that place.
And in that world, a conversation to seize the future began.
***
A heavy tension hung in the air at Fabiana's palace, where a few people had gathered.
"It is nearly impossible to subjugate them by force within the target timeframe."
The bloodied officer knelt and gave his report.
"The castle gate is reinforced with adamant ore so it cannot be broken, but if you try to target the walls, half the soldiers will be wiped out before they even reach them. The residents are defending the castle as if they have gone berserk..."
Smack!
With a sharp sound, the officer's head snapped to the side. A vivid red mark remained on his cheek.
"Is it something to be proud of that my elite troops cannot do anything to a mere peasant?"
Fabiana's voice was low and sharp like a venomous blade.
As the officer trembled and bowed his head, she narrowed her eyes.
The face, which had been silent for a moment, soon slowly formed a smile. As delicate fingertips gently tapped the teacup, the surface of the water rippled softly.
Then there was only one way. She gazed toward the snow-covered castle beyond the window. A distorted smile spread across her face.
What sustained them was not the stones or the walls, but Odelia. As that one woman held onto Talamand, all that madness continued.
In that case, all we need to do is break Talamand's spiritual leader.
Fabiana turned back to the officer and gave an order.
"Continue your assault on Talamand. Set it on fire, demolish the walls with catapults—make them kneel by any means necessary. The time will come soon."
The officer bowed deeply and withdrew, unable to say anything more. As the heavy footsteps faded into the distance, the room was plunged into silence.
At that moment, the aide behind cautiously opened his mouth.
"Your Majesty, if you intend to seize the Talamand... it would be better to show mercy. Only then will the hearts of the people..."
"Mercy?"
Fabiana tilted her head back and laughed softly, as if she had heard a funny joke.
"Mercy is nothing but a shell put forward by the incompetent to mask their weakness. The only thing left in this empire is power."
It was Fabiana who held the teacup with her fingertips and rolled it slowly, without letting go of her cold smile.
Now that Calix had collapsed onto his sickbed, she knew more clearly than anyone. That if not at this moment, she would have to expend much more effort to eliminate Odelia in the future.
Judging by the way he was holding out, it seemed Calix would not die as easily as Liam. If the Emperor were to open his eyes, the entire situation would instantly fall back under his control.
That is why Fabiana was more impatient and more reckless. Mercy was not in her calculations.
"Silence is already circulating among the ministers. Rumors are circulating that His Majesty's collapse might be... a sign of poisoning."
In an instant, Fabiana’s lips thinned, forming a faint smile. Not a single shadow of anxiety flickered. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, as if mocking.
"So what? It is a story that cannot be substantiated anyway. The Emperor is lying on his sickbed, and who among them would dare to uncover the truth to the very end? To avoid losing their honor, they will ultimately have no choice but to keep their mouths shut."
The aide's face hardened, but Fabiana paid no heed. As her fingertips lightly tapped the teacup, the water's surface rippled, creating a pattern.
"One example is enough. If I get rid of that woman, Odelia, all the rumors will converge. To make the Empire revolve around me once again, wouldn't that much sacrifice be necessary?"
Her voice was calm, but the cold determination contained within it was like a blade.
***
Clap.
The sound of iron chains dragging across the floor spread coldly through the underground prison.
"Lady Fabiana is waiting. Rise."
The voice of Fabiana's aide pierced through the darkness. Two guards grabbed Odelia's arm tightly and stopped her.
The chains, bound again around her wrists and ankles, dragged along with a rattling sound. The iron dug into her skin, leaving a cold pain, but Odelia showed no expression on her face.
“Yiu was taken to the palace.”
Odelia said nothing. She simply took a step. The chains bound to her ankles scraped against her skin with every step.
As she walked through the corridor after escaping from prison, countless eyes brushed past her.
Some hurriedly turned their heads away pretending not to see, while others clicked their tongues and covered their mouths. Still others cast a look of pity for just a brief moment.
However, it was the same for everyone else, with no one reaching out a hand.
Everyone knew. That this was a procession of public humiliation deliberately orchestrated by Fabiana.
***
A black and white chessboard lay on the marble table, and Fabiana was sitting in front of it. The chair opposite her was empty.
Fabiana's fingertips, waiting for her opponent, were gently moving the black horse.
As Odelia was led in by the guards, Fabiana elegantly raised her head as if she were the host of a banquet welcoming a guest. It was a chilling sight, completely out of place for the occasion.
"Liam didn't know how to play chess, and Calix wouldn't play with me. So please be my opponent. It's too boring playing alone."
As the guards pulled out the chair, Odelia sat down. The chains on her wrists rattled against the marble.
"You take the white."
Fabiana smiled arrogantly.
"Since you are the white background of this empire, wouldn't a white horse suit you better?"
Odelia did not answer. She simply looked down at the chessboard, quietly catching her breath. Slowly, she raised her hand and picked up a white piece.
Odelia made the first move, and as Fabiana's black piece slid smoothly forward, a long shadow spread across the chessboard.
For a while, only the sound of objects being moved on the marble could be heard. The two people exchanged words in silence for a long time.
The war on the chessboard continued until the coolness of the dawn air gradually faded away. In the meantime, each other's pieces quietly disappeared.
At first glance, it looked like a scene of two people sitting opposite each other, peacefully playing chess. However, hidden within was a tension severe enough to cut off even one's breath.
After a long silence, Fabiana slowly opened her mouth.
"The walls of Talamand are crumbling."
As the black piece advanced forward, a cold voice cut through the air.
"The catapults spew fire, and my army besieges the castle gates. Your people fight and shed blood, but how long can their will be abandoned?"
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