Ch.147The Declining Imperial Family (18)

“Ruide has been acting strange lately.”

Hersy was the first to raise the question.

“…He used to be cute. But lately.”

Hersy looked at Amelia. Amelia slowly nodded.

“I still think he’s cute, but I can’t force Hersy to think the same way.”

“He’s scary these days.”

“Hmph, I think he’s finally come to his senses.”

Damon said while drinking wine. In a somewhat secretive space, the Academy Student Council members were having a gathering after a long time.

“By the way, where did that tall girl go?”

“She hasn’t left her lab for quite a while. She doesn’t even pretend to listen when asked what she’s so focused on.”

Damon nodded. He gestured to Amelia, offering her a drink.

Amelia, who seemed likely to refuse, impassively took the glass and downed it in one go.

She put it down roughly and said:

“I have my suspicions.”

“No one here is unaware of that.”

“I-I… don’t really know.”

Asha said timidly. Damon gave her one contemptuous look, then continued.

“It must be Irene.”

“Yes. No one but my sister could change Ruide.”

“…I think the same. Ruide started acting strange when he was investigating something at the outer perimeter of the First Defense Line. He began acting as if someone was chasing him.”

Amelia thought the same.

Ruide had changed right after investigating the ‘First Emperor’s Tomb.’

Normally, he would have wandered leisurely around the North, taking naps in sunny spots.

But lately, he hadn’t shown any such behavior. His usually sleepy eyes were wide open, and his expression, which typically looked bothered by everything, now appeared emotionless and calm.

‘The Duchess was right.’

She could finally understand Victoria’s words that Ruide was best when he was lazy.

“…Ruide may seem insensitive, but he’s always helped us.”

Hersy stood up.

Looking at everyone, she said:

“He saved us in times of crisis, and we’ve become incomparably stronger than before. Now it’s our turn to help Ruide.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

Hersy was surprised when Damon, who she thought would be the most positive, cut her off.

“Let me ask you this. What are you going to do, girl?”

“I’m not sure yet, but if we first bring Ruide here and talk to him properly…”

“If that were possible, this naive Windsor would have taken action first. We’re here now because that’s not possible.”

“I don’t appreciate being called naive. But.”

Amelia’s shoulders dropped.

“Yes, Damon is right. I’ve already tried talking to him, but Ruide doesn’t even know what the problem is. And it’s difficult to bring it up because Irene is always with him.”

Damon nodded toward Hersy.

“Do you have any other plans?”

“…Not yet.”

Hersy’s eyes shone brightly.

“But I think if we all look for a solution together, we’ll find something.”

Damon openly mocked Hersy.

“That sounds like something that commoner you so despise would say.”

“Damon! Why do you keep being so negative? We can’t just do nothing.”

“Let me clarify something because you seem to be confused.”

Damon put his feet up on the table. Then, holding a wine glass in his right hand, he gestured toward Hersy.

“Currently, 230,000 imperial troops dispatched to subjugate Windsor have been annihilated.”

“…?”

Hersy blinked, unable to comprehend such an unbelievable statement.

“Relations between Windsor and the Imperial family are already beyond repair. And girl, as you’ve seen, Windsor’s power is beyond whatever you can imagine. Erasing the Empire would be instantaneous.”

“Wait, wait. What are you talking about?”

Hersy couldn’t understand the situation. Neither could the other students. Damon’s words seemed too unrealistic.

“If you don’t believe me, ask. Isn’t there another Windsor right here?”

Damon turned to Amelia. But Amelia, who should have been the most active in explaining the situation, was hanging her head and biting her lip.

“A-Amelia. Is what Damon just said true?”

Hersy was denying it even as she spoke.

However, Amelia didn’t say anything.

“Enough with the deception, Amelia Windsor.”

Damon put his glass down on the table and stood up. With one hand in his pocket, he approached Amelia.

“I understand why you’d hide the war from us. There would be a lot of confusion. Everyone here, except for that ignorant commoner, is from influential noble families of the Empire.”

“…”

“But now that things have come to this, shouldn’t you do something? Hiding isn’t always the answer. Reveal the truth and accept my insight, Amelia Windsor.”

Damon took a bottle of whiskey and gulped it down. Amelia, seeming to have made a decision, took the last remaining bottle and drank it all.

Amelia’s skin, which had been as white as snow, turned bright red. She clenched her fist and said:

“…At dawn today, Ruide annihilated 230,000 imperial troops with a single spell. The war between our family and the Empire has already begun.”

“…!”

When Amelia admitted the truth, everyone’s eyes widened.

“T-That’s…”

Hersy looked like she couldn’t believe it.

On the other hand, Damon remained calm.

“Now is not the time to be surprised. If war begins, Minerva, one of the great noble families, will surely summon you.”

“…The summons have already come several times.”

Amelia said quietly.

“Demands are pouring in from each family to return their heirs. But, on my sister’s orders…”

Amelia felt guilty.

“I’ve been erasing all those letters.”

“Anyway, isn’t Windsor the safest place in this situation? If I return now, I’ll just die miserably from my friend’s magic. I’d rather decline.”

Damon smiled outwardly.

But his inner thoughts were completely different.

‘You broke your promise, Irene.’

The promise Irene and Damon had made to help him become Emperor.

The core of that promise was that Damon would become Emperor ‘on his own.’

Even if Irene were to defeat the Empire and hand over the Emperor’s crown—

Damon had no intention of accepting it. It would be nothing but an empty shell.

“Let me ask one thing.”

“Yes.”

“Are you willing to cooperate with us? The condition is to restore Ruide. Turn him back into that sleepy boy.”

“…Unless we can turn back time, that’s impossible.”

Amelia firmly rejected the idea and stood up.

“I came here out of minimal consideration for all of you. The captain’s order was to detain the Academy students in case of any unforeseen circumstances, but I’ll give you a choice. I have that much authority.”

Amelia’s demeanor changed completely.

Her tone was excessively businesslike.

Hersy asked in a trembling voice, as if Amelia had become a different person:

“Amel…ia?”

Amelia ignored Hersy’s words and tried to leave the room.

At that moment, Damon spoke with his arms crossed:

“What if we could turn back time?”

Amelia’s steps halted.

“If we could turn back time—”

Amelia’s neck slowly turned.

Damon asked with his characteristic confident face:

“Would you cooperate? Amelia Windsor.”

**

Ruide walked while rubbing his eyes.

“Maybe I used too much magic. I’m sleepy.”

Using magic always made him sleepy.

Especially on days like today when he used powerful magic.

“I’ll take a short nap.”

A fluffy pile of snow entered Ruide’s blurry vision.

It would be so soft to sleep on top of that.

Just as he was about to give in to the temptation of sleep, a scene from Ruide’s memory flashed by.

The memory of when Colon died.

In such an important situation, he had foolishly fallen asleep and lost someone precious.

Ruide’s expression hardened. Let’s sleep later, after all.

“Lord Ruide. Congratulations on your victory.”

When he turned his head, Rosalie was there.

She bowed deeply.

It was a proper procedure that a maid should perform for the youngest son of a ducal family, but it was also a formality that was rarely done for Ruide.

“What’s this? So formal all of a sudden.”

“Erasing 230,000 troops with a single spell is a remarkable achievement.”

“You could do it too, couldn’t you, Rosalie?”

Rosalie raised her head.

“It would take me longer. I couldn’t do it in under 3 minutes like you, Lord Ruide.”

“How pathetic.”

“…”

“…”

Ruide read Rosalie’s thoughts from her eyes.

She was probably thinking something like, ‘What should I do with this kid?’

‘This is fun.’

“But why are you here, Rosalie? Where’s Sister Irene?”

“She returned to the First Defense Line after watching you cast your spell. She said she had something to do.”

“She did?”

‘Irene is indeed different.’

Amelia would have noticed, but Irene’s presence was never easy to read.

After all, she always conceals her magical power.

Even Ruide didn’t know what Irene’s ‘real weapon’ was.

“How did Sister Irene react?”

Ruide asked expectantly.

Rosalie, seemingly having no intention to hide anything, replied immediately:

“She was very satisfied. However, she commented that it was a waste to use such magic on mere insects.”

“Well, that’s true.”

It was certainly excessive magic.

‘That’s a bit disappointing.’

He thought she would praise him, but she left without ceremony.

“That’s not it. After seeing Lord Ruide completely annihilate the imperial army, she felt reassured and could go do her own work.”

“Really?”

Ruide’s voice brightened a bit.

It was such an adorable sight that even Rosalie, who rarely smiled, couldn’t help but smile.

Rosalie crouched down to meet Ruide’s eye level.

Her pale skin, which hardly seemed human, shimmered before Ruide’s eyes.

“I remained here because of Irene’s instructions. I have a message to deliver.”

“What is it?”

“Irene said…”

Rosalie cleared her throat a few times and imitated Irene’s characteristically calm voice.

“Well done, Rui. I’ll give you a toy as a reward. A huge toy called the Empire.”

“?”

Rosalie returned to her own manner of speaking.

“She means for you to try it on your own, Lord Ruide. The destruction of the Empire.”

“By myself?”

“More precisely, the position of commander. The commander of the main force that will annihilate the Empire, or more accurately, bring down the Imperial family.”

Ruide looked around.

“But there are no troops for that.”

Rosalie pointed to herself.

“Just me and you, Lord Ruide.”

“…Really?”

Rosalie stood up.

“If you agree, please take my hand. I’ll warp us to the place closest to the Empire.”

She extended her hand to Ruide and asked:

“Does it seem too few? You look uncharacteristically flustered.”

He shook his head.

“No. With Rosalie, it’s too easy.”

The troops were more than sufficient.

No, it was excessive, like the magic he had used today.

‘That’s a shame. I wanted to see Hersy and the others before leaving.’

But then he thought:

Wouldn’t it be awkward for both sides if they met?

This was war. Probably nothing good would come of it. Above all, he didn’t know what to say to the Academy students. Express regret? Apologize? Or explain how things came to this?

Whatever he said would be ridiculous.

So Ruide took Rosalie’s hand without hesitation.

“Yes. Let’s do it. Let’s eliminate the Imperial family, just the two of us.”