episode_0281

‘Was it self-abuse?’

Bloody tears flowed from Raonjena’s eyes.

Tears flowed due to the bursting sorrow, but blood was mixed in as her body was severely twisted.

Watching the scene, Victoria read the background of the path Raonjena had taken after Ulysses’ death.

Self-abuse, Raonjena had been abusing herself until now.

‘She wouldn’t have been able to forgive herself. Besides, this woman, Raonjena, has an infinitely weak heart compared to her powerful body. She has no choice but to be swayed rather than overcome.’

Unlike her father, Constantine von Bayern, who returned to the Holy Empire in his adolescence while wandering with him, Victoria continued to travel the continent.

It was not for any other reason. It was out of guilt for her mother, who gave birth to her around the time her ego was formed and died from weakness.

And that choice was very Victoria-like. Because Victoria had a solid mental state since she was a child, she chose the path of finding an exit by contemplating herself rather than relying on someone.

After making such efforts and finding answers, she gained some insight despite being only 21 years old.

That strong mentality is the difference between Raonjena and Victoria.

‘But was holding on to Sophist until the end out of a vague sense of indebtedness? And to find out the intentions of Grand Duke Antoine?’

Raonjena eventually realized that she had caused Ulysses to die and brought dishonor upon him.

But her confusion was not the end but the beginning.

She could not determine whether it was an unexpected accident or whether Antoine Desselles Oblean targeted Ulysses and gave her the elixir, because of her guilt and sorry for her master.

[As my master met his end as a Sword Demon, Sophist was on the verge of collapsing. I wanted to prevent that at least. So, I created Sophist in its current form.]

Raonjena, whose mentality was almost shattered, babbled incoherently.

After Ulysses’ dishonorable death, Sophist naturally began to be dismantled.

Externally, there was an outcry that the armed group led by the Sword Demon should not be left as it was, and internally, a division occurred because the illusion of Ulysses, whom they had looked up to, was shattered.

‘In the end, what my master asked of me last was Sophist…’

Raonjena could not accept the situation.

What was it that Ulysses ultimately wanted from Raonjena? To take care of the Sophist members.

The driving force of life that Raonjena, who was almost out of her mind, grasped was, in fact, the maintenance of the group called Sophist.

Not to make Sophist the best, not to accept the master’s original intention and make it a noble sword order,

Raonjena’s purpose was to survive and maintain Sophist, which was on the verge of destruction due to extreme divisions from both outside and inside.

“It’s pathetic. A terrible rationalization. In the end, you were just obsessed with it to avoid your responsibility and fault.”

Victoria, who had been listening to Raonjena’s confession, or rather, her confession,

However, this time, she shot out a sharp, dagger-like criticism without changing her expression.

This is because she has a sincere respect for him, enough to have possessed Ulysses’ sword before becoming a Sword Master.

And the Sword Order Sophist can be said to be his legacy, containing Ulysses’ philosophy intact.

Therefore, no matter what the reason, the current result cannot be interpreted favorably in Victoria’s eyes.

“Shut up! What do you know! What do you know!”

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Raonjena thrashed about, hitting the floor roughly.

“Ughhhhh…! You… what do you know…”

But that was all.

Because even she thought it was too terrible and a response that she couldn’t face her master with.

After 10 years passed and she learned about all the situations, the shame and regret became even greater.

“In the end, the story flows to that place. Why, why did Grand Duke Antoine destroy Sword Saint Ulysses? Are you saying that you have learned that by interacting with Grand Duke Antoine until now?”

Victoria also became more curious about what information Raonjena had learned.

Sword Saint Ulysses Schneider was not a madman obsessed with strength, as he was known to the world.

As Victoria admired him, her interest in that possibility was bound to increase.

That is why Raonjena had been building up the momentum since the early days of today’s meeting, trying to find out the truth about Antoine and the reason for involving Victoria’s own mother, Adrian.

‘Damn it, should I tell her this or not.’

Eugene Schneider told Marianne the contents of the letter that Vivian had sent,

Afterwards, he seemed quite hesitant, as if there was something more he wanted to say.

‘That the imperial family designated none other than Grand Duke Antoine as a threat.’

The reason is that the one who is threatening the life of Louis XVI is Antoine Desselles Oblean, who made him emperor.

How could he say that to Marianne Desselles Oblean, the wife of Grand Duke Antoine?

‘There’s no way Vivian would lie to me, so wasn’t there a conflict between the imperial family and Grand Duke Antoine?’

It is amazing that the imperial family is feeling a sense of crisis from someone, and it is also amazing that the structure has been revealed to Vivian, who has an uncomfortable relationship with the imperial family.

Therefore, it’s tough enough just to understand it, but Eugene’s head is complicated because Antoine, who had been receiving the full support of the imperial family, is said to be the main threat, so he quickly began to spin his brain.

‘Maybe they’re trying to deal with the conflict in the current chaotic situation. In Louis XVI’s eyes, Vivian’s wealth and escort knight order might have been worth betting on.’

While digging into Vivian, Eugene unknowingly learned a lot about the empire’s political strife.

Even he no longer sees Antoine only as a Kaiser with a thorough chivalrous mindset, as in the past.

Therefore, no matter how much Louis XVI was established by Antoine and Antoine holds the current power under the full support of the imperial family, it is difficult to say for sure what kind of conflict has been created within the two.

If that were the case, Eugene Schneider himself would try to deal with it as a package of chaos when a sudden chaos like now occurs.

And in order for that to be possible, the power of a new force would be needed.

Vivian, who has not only continued to succeed in national projects but also has considerable power, seems to be able to reach Louis XVI’s side.

“Eugene, is there something additionally written in the letter that is making your head more complicated than what you just told your mother? That’s how it seems to me.”

As expected, Mommy Marianne, who loves Eugene Schneider so much, immediately noticed Eugene’s behavior, who was quite good at managing his expression and spinning his head.

“Um…that, that is, mother…”

“It’s okay. Tell me. Your mother is ready to make a rational judgment on whatever you say.”

If it were a normal matter, he would have glossed over it with great acting and promised for later,

But if what Vivian said is true, they will have to start taking concrete action right away.

Therefore, Eugene Schneider scratched his head slightly at Marianne’s words and hesitated.

Mommy Marianne, who was infinitely benevolent, embraced her adopted son Eugene and tried to make his heart comfortable.

“The imperial family felt threatened and is trying to check the Grand Duke??”

Soon, Marianne, who had heard in detail from Eugene Schneider about how the situation was unfolding, was startled.

“As I mentioned earlier, the head of the Pieta Merchant is the head of the Pierre family, so I don’t think it’s false information at all.”

Looking at such Marianne, Eugene carefully added an explanation.

When Vivian’s story came out a few days ago, Eugene did not tell Marianne that she was a member of the Pierre family and Alexis’ daughter.

The Oblean family’s young ladies may not have known what Antoine had done to the Pierre family, but Marianne, the Grand Duchess, may have been aware of it.

However, in the current message, the credibility of the source of the information was more important than anything else, so Eugene first told Marianne that the head of the Pieta Merchant was Alexis Saint-Pierre’s daughter.

“Yes…Vivian Saint-Pierre, I have had quite a deep relationship with that child as well. She is not a child who would ever lie.”

Marianne nodded slowly, with a thoughtful expression on her face.

“Still, it would be difficult to conclude this information as it is, right, mother? The head of the Pieta Merchant also said that a request like this is coming in.”

Once he brought it out, Eugene felt that it was an even more difficult size of controversy to handle.

Therefore, Eugene, who is suggesting that they should approach it more carefully,

“No. Assuming that the information Vivian conveyed is correct, I think we should prepare for the subsequent response. Given the relationship between the Grand Duke and Louis XV, they are more than capable of doing so.”

But unlike Eugene Schneider’s expectations, Marianne’s side rather accepted the conflict between the imperial family and Antoine as a foregone conclusion.

‘What is it? Mother’s eyes right now? As if she had almost been waiting for it, full of confirmation…!’

It was a reaction that made Eugene Schneider feel embarrassed.

[While researching the elixir, I learned something unexpected. It was about the time when Ulysses Schneider was actively working in the Imperial Knights, that is, when he was doing martial arts training.]

What Raonjena chose in order to continue maintaining the Sophist Order was a transformation into a secret society.

At the heart of that project was the elixir that made Ulysses go berserk, and Raonjena began her own research, separate from Antoine, who had cut off the supply of the elixir.

The secret trade of Sophist that Thomas of the Red Fox Mercenaries experienced began to take root as this project began.

[That guy went not only to the Empire but also to Iskandar, the northern snowfield. It seems he didn’t just stay for a while, but went around and got his hands on unusual things. It was also then that he obtained the poisonous herb that created the elixir, the so-called Demon God’s Snowflake.]

The story that Sword Saint Ulysses Schneider had fallen caused a great reaction even among the demons. Therefore, it was easy for Raonjena to travel around Iskandar with the signboard of the secret society Sophist.

Thanks to that, the actions of Antoine Desselles Oblean during his martial arts training, which were not known to the world, were obtained.

‘Why? Isn’t it too deep and broad a move for the purpose of simply expanding knowledge?’

The life of a swordsman wandering to realize the path of the sword is diverse.

However, the swordsman class is solely a symbol of the human race, and Victoria has never heard of finding a breakthrough in the culture of the demons.

[I see that you still don’t understand. I was the same. But after learning about the legend of the Demon King who received the grace of the Demon God, and understanding what Antoine was trying to do through that legend, I understood.]

Smirk…!

Raonjena, who had been so frustrated when talking about Ulysses, once again had a face distorted by madness as she began to mention Antoine’s secret actions.

[Antoine wants to kill the Demon King who was born with the grace of the Demon God and summon a goddess.]

Afterwards, she said the same thing as the ancient demon priest Anastasia.

[And he is trying to resurrect your mother, Adrian von Bayern, through that goddess.]

Not only that, but she went one step further and dropped a nuclear bomb that would break Victoria’s poker face.