episode_0054

Vistus, who had been abandoned by Cladia and completely shattered mentally.

During the month it took for him to receive treatment from Sylph and regain his sanity, the royal palace where Cladia resided was undergoing a major upheaval.

Clang!

“When did Her Highness order such food to be made?”

“T-That’s…!”

“Take this person out and cut their throat!”

“P-Please spare me, Your Majesty!”

The knights with trembling lips dragged the head chef, who pleaded for mercy, outside.

“P-Please spare us, knights! I have a family to feed at home…! Ack!”

Though the chef cried and clung to the knight, he closed his eyes and struck the back of her neck, rendering her unconscious.

“I’m sorry. We can’t risk our lives as well. …At least I’ll make sure you pass without suffering.”

In the short span of a month, the atmosphere in the kingdom had turned extremely grim.

Despite being a ruthless empress known as the Iron Blood Empress to villains, traitors, and sycophants, Cladia was a benevolent ruler to innocent civilians and her subjects.

However, she had changed completely.

It all began with a maid who made a minor mistake being executed on the spot.

A maid who accidentally grazed Cladia’s body while helping her dress, leaving a mark.

“You committed a crime worthy of death, Your Majesty!”

The maid immediately prostrated herself, begging for forgiveness, but…

“A crime worthy of death? I see. Die. Guards, execute this criminal by hanging immediately!”

Cladia summoned the palace knights to carry out the maid’s execution.

“Your Majesty… Even if one has committed a grave offense, immediate execution without trial is not right.”

“Your Majesty, please reconsider.”

Despite the knights’ attempts to dissuade Cladia…

“Are you defying Her Highness’s orders?”

Boom!

A magic circle emerged from Cladia’s hand.

“If that’s the case, you shall die first. Hellfire.”

Rumble

The flames of hell engulfed the two knights.

“Aaargh!”

“Y-Your Majesty, please! Aaargh!”

In a brief moment, the two knights turned into ashes.

The surrounding knights were shocked by the gruesome sight.

“Next. You. Take this criminal out and hang them.”

Cladia pointed at the knight standing at the front.

“T-This is…”

“Or do you intend to defy Her Highness’s command?”

“I-I will follow the order!”

The knight, startled, took the maid and left.

Since that incident, Cladia falsely accused those within the palace who made small mistakes, even those who did nothing wrong, and executed them.

Occasionally, loyalists tried to stop Cladia, but they ended up meeting a grim fate at her hands.

Those remaining were so terrified by the horrific ends meted out that they didn’t dare dream of rebelling against Cladia.

The once cheerful palace had transformed into a fearful citadel tainted with the stench of blood.

“How did things come to this!”

Fearing what might happen if they crossed Cladia, the empire’s nobles gathered in a hidden secret chamber.

“Just when Her Majesty banished the Prime Minister, didn’t everyone feel something was amiss?”

“We did sense something was off… But even so, we thought Her Majesty must have had her reasons for her actions.”

Prime Minister’s Secretary tried to prevent the expulsion of Cladia, who was trusted as a famous general. Most of them thought there must be a reason for what Cladia did.

“Surely Your Majesty wouldn’t change so drastically in such a short time…”

If the Prime Minister’s Secretary had remained, some believed that Cladia might not have gone on such a rampage.

“At this rate, we might even face execution ourselves.”

“…I absolutely do not wish to die in such a miserable manner.”

Nobles trembled, recalling the sight of nobles executed by Cladia before.

“Rather than dying in such a gruesome manner…”

Instead.

The nobles gathered here all thought of one word in their minds.

“Your Majesty has changed. That fact is undeniable.”

Everyone nodded at the Duke’s words.

“Your Majesty, who has changed, has lost the ability to lead the empire. Neither the citizens of the empire nor the lords of each region will support Your Majesty any longer.”

During the short span of a month, Cladia not only conducted a reign of terror within the palace but also caused bloodshed in other territories outside the capital.

For reasons as trivial as low tribute from a territory, she executed lords, and for the mere perception of a village being impoverished, she burned down entire villages.

Cladia had no intention of stopping the spread of rumors, causing the entire empire to learn of her actions.

Initially renowned as a righteous ruler, Cladia’s unprecedented tyranny led to her being viewed as the worst tyrant in imperial history as the number of victims rapidly increased.

Not content with just that, during the process of killing off maidens who mostly were daughters of local lords, many lords harbored resentment towards Cladia.

These resentful individuals eventually came together, forming the catalyst for a rebellion.

“If we’re to live on our knees like this… I’d rather stand up and die.”

“Right!”

All the nobles agreed with the Duke’s words, rising from their seats.

“There’s word of rebels heading towards the capital. Brave warriors willing to march forth, gather!”

Shuffle

All the nobles present raised their hands high.

“Long live the empire!”

“Long live the empire!”

“What an interesting story.”

Cladia sat on the throne, observing the nobles’ secret meeting through familiar magic.

“Things are progressing quite smoothly.”

As the representative of ‘good,’ Vissus may have died, but merely killing him won’t lead this world to a bad ending.

Cladia. Being abandoned and falling into ruin by the empire she built and led.

That was precisely what ‘evil’ desired.

“It seems appropriate to start withdrawing now.”

‘Evil’ decided to return control of Cladia’s body to her.

“How difficult it is to control a human compared to a dragon.”

Leaving behind Cladia, who often resisted more than any other sentient being ‘evil’ had possessed, ‘evil’ released the possession.

“Considering the impact left by my presence alone, it should be sufficient.”

The unique energy ‘evil’ left behind while controlling Cladia’s body.

Cladia had already been thoroughly consumed by that energy.

No matter how kind she used to be, the fact that a divine being had possessed her had warped Cladia’s nature irreversibly.

To the extent that ‘evil’ continued its deeds through Cladia without further intervention.

“Cladia. You seem curious about the expression you’ll have in the end.”

Shouldn’t they have handled the representative of ‘good’ more slowly?

It would have been quite a spectacle if she had just maintained her life and shown the current situation as it is.

That’s what should be done in the next dimension.

—

Thud.

Vyrseus checked her body while bending the arm that Undine had regenerated.

“It doesn’t quite feel like it’s moving completely at will.”

But that doesn’t matter.

As long as he can save her,

Whether the arm is intact or not becomes irrelevant.

– Vyrseus. What should we do now?

Silph asked Vyrseus.

“First, let’s return to the palace. We need to find out what happened to His Majesty.”

No matter how much he thought about it, there was no way His Majesty, who was in good condition, would have acted like that.

There must be a reason for his actions, or he must have fallen victim to some kind of mental manipulation.

If that’s the case.

“I will save her even if it costs me my life.”

Vyrseus, enveloped in the pure wind of the spirits, soared high into the sky.