Ch.150The Declining Imperial Family (21)

-“I’ll explain the plan now.”

-“Amelia Windsor.”

-“No matter what happens, stop your brother.”

The time Ruide had predicted was approaching.

As that time drew nearer, Amelia grew increasingly anxious.

On her way here, Damon’s words kept circling in her mind.

-“What does that mean?”

-“It’s simple. It means you, not Ruide, should stand on the battlefield directly.”

But Damon hadn’t been kind. He hadn’t told her everything.

He only said those words and assured her that if she trusted him, they could get the original Ruide back.

‘What is he thinking?’

Participating in a plan as hazy as fog is unsettling. Especially when you don’t know where it leads.

But after seeing Damon’s determined gaze, Amelia decided to follow his plan.

Those weren’t the eyes of someone telling lies.

“Ame, sis.”

Ruide approached Amelia, who was crouching alone.

Gulp-

Amelia instinctively knew it was time to do what she needed to do and swallowed hard.

“Rui.”

Rising from her seat, she looked at her small brother who barely reached her waist.

On the surface, he was the same adorable brother as always.

But the situation was more extreme than ever.

“Go back to the North.”

“I can’t do that.”

“My strength alone is enough. To destroy the tower the First Emperor built so carefully. So go back.”

It had always been this way.

Ruide always seemed lazy but was secretly stubborn.

Breaking that stubbornness was no easy task.

‘But if I can’t do this, I don’t deserve to be Rui’s sister.’

Amelia embraced Ruide as he turned to leave, as if she had nothing more to say.

“Irene and you are so exceptional—”

“……”

“Sometimes I wonder if I’m just unnecessary.”

Ruide spoke in a small voice.

“That’s not true.”

A real family, formed for the first time since his possession.

Ruide didn’t want to hurt any of his precious family members.

That’s why—

“Just this once, I wish you would trust me.”

Ruide couldn’t refuse.

**

Ruide was pacing around the same spot.

“If you’re going to be so restless, why don’t you step in yourself?”

Rosalie sighed lightly.

The promised time was approaching, and the historic moment of tearing down the massive walls the empire had built was coming.

However, standing there alone was Amelia, not Ruide as originally planned.

She was pointing her sword while wearing full plate mail. It was like a single female knight facing the giant that was the empire.

“No. That would be disrespecting Amelia.”

Rosalie seemed displeased. Ruide knew that too.

She was a vampire. She couldn’t understand human hearts. Seeking only efficiency, she probably couldn’t accept this situation.

“Well, if that’s what you think—”

But before being a vampire, she was a Windsor maid.

Since ignoring the words of the only young master, Ruide, wasn’t a maid’s duty, Rosalie took a step back.

“Do you think she can win?”

“That depends on Lady Amelia’s determination.”

Ruide looked up at Rosalie.

“What do you mean?”

“Lady Amelia is certainly the weakest among the current Windsors. That’s unfortunately undeniable.”

“…That’s true.”

“But in large-scale battles like this, she doesn’t fall behind.”

In other words, she was good at fighting multiple opponents.

Ruide knew this fact, but he was still uneasy. He stared at Amelia with a blank face.

“Will she be able to do it?”

“…I don’t think that’s something the youngest brother should be saying.”

While chatting with Rosalie, the wall gates opened.

He thought it was strange. Why would the defending side give up the advantage they had in a siege?

‘Is it because there’s only one person?’

A single man walked out through the opened gate.

“It’s Damon. Former prince and current heir to Kairos.”

“…What’s he planning?”

A silver-haired woman was visible on top of the wall. It was Hersy, drawing the string of her magnificent bow.

-Swish.

Amelia raised her sword with an expressionless face.

Both sides moved as if there was no need for prolonged anticipation.

Just as Damon was almost there—

Hersy’s arrow pointed at Amelia.

Whoosh!

Two arrows stretched toward Amelia.

Though they left a faint emerald afterimage, the power contained within was formidable mana.

Amelia barely avoided one arrow by bending her waist backward, then deflected the remaining arrow with her sword.

Boom!

The ground shook from the impact. Rosalie caught Ruide as he stumbled.

“She’s a talented human.”

“…She wasn’t this good before.”

Ruide was extremely surprised inside.

‘What happened?’

Hersy had always been stronger than others since their academy days. But that was only relative to “student level.”

‘At this level, she’s at least on par with a low-ranking Windsor knight. She gets stronger every time I see her.’

Her skills had improved tremendously since he last saw her.

The texture of her mana, its size—efficiency.

Everything.

“In the future, she might have become quite a troublesome opponent. Of course—it’s too early now.”

As a dust storm rose from the shockwave, Damon charged through it.

Damon thrust his spear with precise targeting. Amelia blocked it easily.

Clang!

But the sound was loud enough to make the air vibrate. The corner of Damon’s mouth turned up.

“If I can’t even defeat the weakest Windsor, I’m not qualified to be Emperor.”

“I don’t particularly like men who only talk big.”

“Then I’ll just show you.”

Golden electricity wrapped around Damon’s spear.

‘That’s the imperial mana.’

Mana symbolizes a family. The more strongly one inherits the family’s bloodline, the more powerfully it manifests.

Damon’s golden light was incredibly vivid. It seemed to prove how strongly he had inherited the First Emperor’s blood.

“Hup-!”

Amelia forcefully pushed Damon’s spear downward.

Damon didn’t resist Amelia’s strength.

Like flowing water, the spear pointed downward, then suddenly veered off to aim at Amelia’s neck.

“Ugh.”

Amelia bit her molars and tilted her body to the side. As the spear barely missed, she swung her sword toward the empty space.

‘He can’t dodge this.’

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Amelia’s trajectory was perfect, and it was a strike nearly impossible to avoid.

But at that moment—

Crack-!

A subtle electric current flowed from Damon’s body.

“…!”

Amelia withdrew her sword and stepped back. The armor on her arm had been burned black.

“That expensive thing…!”

“…?”

Ruide doubted his ears and looked at Rosalie.

Rosalie politely folded her arms as if she hadn’t said anything.

“It’s nothing.”

“…Is it very expensive?”

When he asked cautiously, Rosalie answered grimly.

“It costs enough to buy a castle.”

“I-I see.”

Ruide thought with cloudy eyes.

‘Setting aside why a vampire needs money, is our family’s salary that stingy…?’

He thought he should take note of that.

Anyway, that wasn’t the important thing.

‘Damon. He’s strong as expected.’

But he wasn’t too worried yet.

What Ruide was concerned about was a possible “hidden card.” Not Damon.

The opponent was the empire. Even if the empire was no different from a paper tiger, there was a reason it had been maintained for a thousand years.

The medieval world isn’t romantic enough for the weak to reign for a thousand years.

‘But I still don’t know.’

Ruide looked at the wall with suspicious eyes.

The Emperor sitting quietly further back.

What was he plotting now?

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to deal with you for long, so I’ll end this duel.”

Amelia released her great mana. It was such a substantial amount that Ruide’s shoulders flinched.

‘…It’s over.’

Damon couldn’t move a finger, his face hardened.

Amelia took a step. Damon wore an extremely pained expression.

“I’ve seen the conviction in that unwavering spear. You must have made painful efforts.”

Damon probably realized it at this moment.

That Amelia too—was a Windsor.

“But in the end, you can’t defeat someone born with talent.”

“You can’t defeat someone born with talent?”

Even though it must have been difficult to even stand due to the dense mana, he didn’t bend his waist at all.

“That’s my line, woman.”

“Although you’re a prince of an enemy country, I don’t want to kill you because of our past relationship. Despite that, do you refuse to admit defeat?”

Amelia pointed her sword at Damon’s neck.

“Defeat? Me? How foolish.”

Even with a sword at his neck, Damon remained dignified.

Rather, he raised his head high and looked straight at Amelia as if to show off.

Amelia’s brow furrowed.

“Even in this situation, you…”

“Do you know something?”

Damon’s smile deepened.

“I was the prince who inherited the First Emperor’s blood most strongly.”

Ruide felt a sense of déjà vu and reached out his hand.

“Do you know why Lucius became Emperor instead of me?”

‘There’s definitely something.’

It would be troublesome if Amelia were in danger. Ruide tried to use the strongest barrier he could.

But at that moment, his eyes met Amelia’s.

With clear blue eyes like his own, Amelia slowly shook her head.

Ruide lowered his hand with a blank face.

“Because I could have become Emperor anytime I wanted.”

“What does that…”

“Obey me, Amelia Windsor.”

It happened as Damon finished speaking.

Ruide could see it.

Countless thin golden threads wrapping around Amelia’s body.

The threads entered through her head, the back of her neck, between her spine. It was too late for Ruide to react.

No, even if he had known about this beforehand, it was questionable whether he could have stopped it.

“First, put that sword away.”

Amelia bowed her head.

And she withdrew her sword and put it back in its scabbard.

Amelia’s characteristically pure pupils were now empty.

Ruide muttered softly with an incredulous face.

“…Sis?”