Ch.102Chapter 102. A Cruel Joke

Inside the underground prison of Hesna Castle.

Anima, who had been imprisoned here recently, was consuming only minimal water and refusing all food from Serpina’s forces.

“Hey.”

“……”

“Hey! Answer me!”

“……”

“…Geez.”

Although the guard occasionally tried to speak to her, Anima consistently maintained complete silence.

Since the guard hadn’t received any special instructions, he didn’t particularly try to engage her further—

‘If this continues, her life could be in danger.’

Having to return with the meal he had brought, completely untouched, wasn’t exactly pleasant for the guard either.

Just as he was thinking that he should probably ask his superiors for guidance again, his ears caught—

The sound of footsteps approaching.

Wondering who it might be, he turned his head… and there stood the golden-haired absolute ruler who occupied the highest position in his life.

More noble than anyone, more elegant than anyone.

If a crown of absolute authority truly existed on the continent, she was the only woman worthy of wearing it.

“Greetings, my lord.”

Serpina addressed the guard who bowed respectfully.

“Report the situation.”

“As I previously informed you, she continues to refuse meals. It seems she’s only consuming the minimum water necessary for survival.”

“I see.”

Serpina tilted her head slightly to the side.

Quickly recognizing this as a signal to leave, the guard bowed once more before swiftly exiting the area.

Left alone, Serpina, maintaining an impassive expression, walked toward the cell where Anima was being held.

Upon arriving, she found a one-armed woman sitting slumped with her head bowed, saying nothing.

“Anima Ingram.”

“……”

Though there was no response from her, Serpina didn’t particularly mind.

“Do you intend to continue this foolish display? Even your master wouldn’t want you to come to harm.”

“……”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but this isn’t resistance or anything of the sort. It’s just childish, self-destructive behavior. Meaningless and incapable of changing anything. I heard you were intelligent, but it seems that’s not particularly true?”

Finally, Serpina asked in a flat tone devoid of any emotion.

“Anima Ingram. Let me ask you directly. Would you consider working under me from now on?”

“…What?”

At Serpina’s words, Anima finally broke her silence.

“Exactly what I said. I’ve heard about your talents. I’m wondering if you’d be willing to use those talents for me from now on. Well, I don’t expect you to agree, but if you change your mind, I wouldn’t be opposed.”

Hearing this, Anima slowly raised her head and glared at Serpina.

In her eyes… there dwelled a fury that seemed ready to explode at any moment.

It was such intense killing intent that it would have consumed an ordinary person, but Serpina remained unfazed, staring directly back into her eyes.

“…Don’t make me laugh.”

“……”

“Even if it costs me my head, I have no intention of working under you, Serpina.”

It was an undeniably provocative statement—

But Serpina, without so much as a twitch of her eyebrow, replied in the same composed tone she had used for her proposal.

“I see. That’s unfortunate.”

Her words suggested regret, but her response didn’t seem regretful at all.

After that, Anima spoke with even more hostility.

“I’ll never forgive you, Serpina von Einhart. I will… I will kill you with my own hands.”

“I hear that sort of talk often. Not just from you.”

“Ha! You’d better remember that. If you don’t cut off my head now, I’ll cut off yours with my own hands.”

Anima spoke provocatively again.

But no matter what she said, she couldn’t shake the golden-haired absolute ruler before her even slightly.

“I don’t make a habit of damaging goods that have fallen into my hands, even when they struggle against their fate.”

“What did you say…?!”

“Isn’t it good news? With your capture, Baranga Yurie Aeshus whom you serve has essentially had a weakness exposed to me.”

Crack!

The anger inside Anima finally began to erupt at those words.

“You… you damned woman!”

“Go ahead and struggle. See what happens. You can’t even struggle properly since you haven’t been eating, but even if you somehow managed to muster the strength, you know well that nothing would be resolved. Because you’re intelligent. Aren’t you?”

“Ugh… ugh… ugh!!”

Bang!

Anima pounded on the iron bars a few times, then glared intensely at Serpina—

But Serpina, unsurprisingly, remained completely unfazed, maintaining her downward gaze as she spoke calmly.

“Let me give you some advice. You should eat your meals.”

“What…?”

“Didn’t you just boast that you would kill me with your own hands? You need to keep yourself alive to do that, don’t you? As someone who served as a nation’s strategist, you should take responsibility for your words.”

“…!!!”

Anima stared at Serpina, her face pale.

From the moment she had walked in and spoken to her, Serpina had maintained the same expression.

An ambiguous expression that could be interpreted as bored if one thought it was boredom, or intimidating if one thought it was intimidation.

A distant expression—cold yet not without burning determination behind those eyes—that seemed untouchable.

“……”

Anima slowly lowered her head—

And only then did she pick up the rye bread placed in her cell and begin to devour it ravenously.

A beast-like meal with no regard for appearances.

With the sound of smacking lips in the background, Serpina turned and began walking away.

And at that moment.

“…Fiviola Academy.”

“!!!”

When that name left Anima’s lips—

For the first time, Serpina wavered, if only for an instant.

With her back turned, Anima wouldn’t have noticed, but Serpina’s composure had definitely been shaken.

“It’s not an unfamiliar term to you, is it? A place you erased simply because your competitor was supporting it.”

“……”

“It’s not just Fiviola Academy. Serpina, there are many more people across the continent who are targeting you. Someday… you’ll be caught.”

After those final words, the sound of hurried eating resumed.

Serpina left the prison without looking back or responding.

After returning to the royal castle.

Serpina sat in the lord’s chair and fell into thought.

It was a story from the past that now felt like a distant memory.

“Brother. Why… why did you do such a thing?! What did those people do wrong—”

“Silence! This is the only way! To prevent that foolish brother from inheriting the throne, I must consolidate power somehow!”

“But…!”

Slap!

“…Don’t overstep your bounds. Understand?”

“……”

After briefly recalling what had happened long ago, Serpina slowly closed her eyes and erased the memory once more.

There was no point in dwelling on it now.

From the moment she decided to shoulder the name of Einhart, the great vessel containing the empire’s revival—she had to become the emperor who would unify the empire.

Recalling the past naturally brought to mind the images that haunted her thoughts.

A recurring dream.

For reasons unknown, she saw herself looking happy, meeting someone dear in a place that felt nostalgic.

Me?

Being happy… with someone?

‘What a terrible joke.’

Serpina stopped her train of thought and closed her eyes, leaning back in her chair.

A ritual she performed repeatedly whenever her mind became troubled.

If she sighed briefly several times… she could return to being the person everyone wanted her to be.

After organizing her thoughts that way, she slowly opened her eyes—

And once again, she could be the absolute ruler and tyrant of the North.

Someone who could calmly withstand countless murderous intents.

Whether this was the most efficient method, she wasn’t sure—

Nevertheless, believing it was the best option.

Just as she had done until now, she would simply continue forward.

* * *

“Here, a total of 6,900 gold. The travel expenses you’ll need are in the pouch at the very top of the box. There’s an additional 1,000 gold inside, which should be plenty.”

I accepted the wooden box.

It was filled with gold coins, the mere sight of which made one feel affluent.

“Thank you.”

“Thank me…?”

“For carrying it all the way here. It must have been heavy.”

“Not at all. It’s simply my duty. Still, thank you for your concern, Sir Swen.”

The soldier who had prepared the carriage said this while saluting me.

If I had enough strength to function properly as a person, I would have moved things myself…

Unfortunately, I had a body that required conserving energy as much as possible to handle emergency situations, so quietly accepting help was the wise choice here.

“Shall we depart now?”

Hearing my words, the soldier suddenly remembered something.

“Ah, right. Sir Swen. I have a message for you.”

“What is it?”

“My lord said she would provide you with a guard captain. They should be arriving shortly.”

A guard captain.

While it seemed unnecessary just for a negotiation, when I thought about it, we were dealing with Serpina after all.

If I succeeded in securing Anima’s return, having someone to help look after her would make things easier for me too.

“I understand.”

“Yes. Then, I’ll take my leave.”

After the soldier left, as I was passing time watching clouds drift across the sky.

“Swen.”

A now very familiar female voice reached my ears.

I turned my head toward the source of the voice.

“Lady Irene?”

She was looking at me, dressed in comfortable attire suitable for a long journey.

It seemed they had assigned Irene as my guard.

Considering that a commander of her caliber would have nothing to fear anywhere, it was quite an appropriate selection.

From my perspective, there was no one I trusted more to watch my back.

Yes.

Up to this point, everything was within the realm of expectation.

However—

“H-h-hello…!”

The problem was the pink-haired woman standing beside her, whose face was also familiar.

“Reika…?”

Irene and Reika.

Faced with this strange pairing, I could only stare at them, at a loss for words.