Ch.181Chapter 181. Tyrant Serpina (3)

“What…?”

Fiviola Academy was an educational institution headed by Jenard, one of the men with whom she had connections.

And the one currently holding command over the Imperial Army was… her younger brother Sidmid.

The implication was painfully simple.

‘No way…!!’

Something irreversible had already happened.

* * *

“Hah… huff.”

Serpina was hurrying her steps, rushing toward the mansion where Sidmid resided.

‘It can’t be true…!’

It had to be a lie.

No matter how much her second brother coveted the emperor’s throne… he couldn’t have committed an act equivalent to massacring civilians.

For a man who had yet to express any opinion or declare support to be eliminated simply because he was “pro-Algot faction,” and not just him alone but—

To commit the insane act of destroying the academy he managed, slaughtering innocent students and professors alike?

It was impossible to believe. No, to be precise, she absolutely refused to believe such a thing.

Surely something must be wrong—clinging to that futile hope, she continued rushing forward, and when she came to her senses, she was already standing in front of the mansion door.

Clunk!

She flung the door open and began searching the interior of the mansion for Sidmid.

Fortunately or unfortunately, finding him didn’t take long.

“Brother Sidmid!”

“…What is it, Serpina? What business do you have?”

Sparkling golden hair and black eyes.

The man who was idly drinking with bottles of alcohol piled on his desk was Sidmid von Einhart, the protagonist who had rebelled against Algot’s rule.

Had he not been drinking, he might have given off the impression of a fine nobleman… but now he only presented a haggard appearance.

“Is it… true?”

“What is?”

“Fiviola Academy… Surely, you didn’t…!”

“…”

Sidmid silently poured a glass of wine and drank it all at once.

Gulp, gulp.

Then, roughly placing the wine glass on the table with a thud, he said:

“Did you come looking for me just to talk about that?”

“Just that…? How could you…!”

“I thought you might finally be acknowledging the trend and wanting to join my side. Well, even if you did, you wouldn’t be much help. If you have nothing to say, get out. Unless you want to see something unpleasant.”

“Brother, answer my question! Fiviola Academy…!”

“Yes!”

Bang!

At the intense sound of his fist striking the table, Serpina was momentarily speechless.

“I did it. So what?”

“How could you…!”

The Imperial Army’s raid—no, calling it a raid was too generous; it was a one-sided massacre.

“You know very well what kind of man that old headmaster was, don’t you? While everyone was acknowledging me, he was a pathetic old man clinging to outdated traditions, falling behind the times.”

Sidmid poured out his words like a bursting dam, continuing his tirade.

As if determined not to give Serpina a chance to speak.

“Everyone is following me! In this situation, why wouldn’t Algot try to secure his own share? Most of the powerful nobles support me! In the midst of all this, isn’t it only natural to eliminate those fools who spread nonsense about ‘the academy maintaining neutrality’! Besides, neutrality is just a nice word. Considering that damned old man’s tendencies, it wouldn’t be surprising if he came to stab us in the back at any moment!”

The greatest condition for Sidmid, who was neither the firstborn nor had sufficient justification, to challenge Algot was the full support of powerful nobles.

In fact, the authority to command the Imperial Army was given to him because of the support from nobles in various territories.

Algot was a rational person. He was strict about rewarding good and punishing evil, and had been advocating the importance of strengthening imperial authority since their father was alive.

For him, “powerful families” were obstacles to royal authority. He was a hardliner who insisted that any meritorious family should kneel beneath the imperial family.

In contrast, Sidmid was relatively conciliatory. It would be accurate to describe him as a much more political figure than his brother.

He flexibly recognized most of the nobles’ titles and rights, which was the main driving force behind many nobles supporting the second son Sidmid rather than the firstborn Algot in a situation where the successor had not been determined. Except for Serpina, who was considerably younger, the siblings tended to follow Sidmid rather than the somewhat rigid Algot.

“It won’t be long now anyway! I made a decision for the sake of this empire! This isn’t something for someone like you, who has neither responsibility nor rights, to question!”

Huff, huff…

As Sidmid ranted as if making a strong excuse to someone and then gasped for breath, unable to control himself, Serpina looked at him with an expression that seemed on the verge of tears and pleaded:

“Brother, why… why did you do such a thing?! What did the people there do wrong—”

Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that the academy’s headmaster could be killed. Of course, that should never happen either, but still.

But eliminating all the students and professors at the academy was literally an act of insane cruelty.

There were nobles’ children there too. Even if there was a possibility that the pro-Algot headmaster’s influence might reach them… what reason was there for them to die unjustly without even expressing their own opinions?

Sidmid shouted as if he had done nothing wrong:

“Shut up! This was the only way! To prevent that stupid Algot from inheriting the throne, I had to eliminate any potential seeds of unrest in advance!”

“But… meaninglessly killing people like this… someone who is to become emperor shouldn’t do such things!”

At that moment.

Sidmid rose from his seat and walked steadily toward Serpina.

And then—

Slap!

—he struck Serpina’s cheek hard as she was about to say something.

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

“Brother…!!!”

“Do you think anything will change because I did this? Not at all. Everyone is on my side. I have control of the military, and I have the support of many nobles. I absolutely cannot stand by and watch the empire be stolen by a brother who has nothing going for him except being born earlier!”

“But…”

“I have nothing more to say to you, so you’d better leave now. Out of familial affection, I’ll spare your life. I don’t need your help either. It would be best for you to live as quietly as possible.”

Serpina swallowed the tears that threatened to fall.

Being hit didn’t matter. Wounds heal with time.

But… what saddened her most was that things had become irreversible.

Countless people had died.

Once lives were lost, it could never be resolved through dialogue.

‘Why…!’

Why had it come to this?

Despite trying so hard, why couldn’t she resolve anything?

Was it because she lacked power? Because she had no political foundation? Or was it simply because she was incompetent?

No, before that—

How on earth did Brother Sidmid learn about the academy headmaster’s intentions?

The headmaster wouldn’t have spoken about such things publicly. If he had said anything about the crown prince issue, she should have known about it too.

At that moment.

“…!!!”

On her way out, she encountered Stadel and Lilirose.

And as soon as she saw Stadel’s face… she remembered that he was in a position overseeing the empire’s academies.

“Brother Stadel… could it be…?”

“…I have nothing to say to you.”

“Did you tell him? That the headmaster said such things—”

At that moment.

Instead of Stadel, who turned his head away awkwardly, it was Serpina’s only older sister, Lilirose, who cut off her words.

“Go home, Serpina. The empire needs change. Algot’s methods will only accelerate division. Both of us agree with Sidmid’s thinking.”

“Sister…!!”

“…Let’s go.”

Watching the backs of Stadel and Lilirose recede, she collapsed on the spot, her strength leaving her.

One thing was certain—

In this situation, there was nothing she could do.

* * *

As Sidmid had boasted, the massacre became a topic of conversation momentarily but was quickly hushed up.

Despite several families being wiped out, nothing significant happened. Even noble families were far too weak compared to the truly influential court nobles who affected central politics.

Among the nobles, the sentiment against Algot was much stronger than expected. If legitimacy hadn’t protected him, he would have been overwhelmed by Sidmid long ago.

During this time, Serpina… had been secluding herself in her bedroom.

Due to the despair of being unable to change anything, she couldn’t muster the energy to do anything proactive.

How many days had passed like that?

“Princess Serpina… Crown Prince Algot is looking for you.”

“…”

Why would he be looking for me now?

If he were to say something like “become my ally” again, she planned to flatly refuse and retreat back to her room.

But.

The words that came out of Algot’s mouth were… so shocking they were almost unbelievable.

“You’re going to… relinquish the throne?”

“Yes. I’m thinking of… giving the crown prince position to Sidmid.”

“Brother…”

Algot smiled bitterly and muttered with his head bowed to the floor:

“People around me are dying one by one just because they follow me. There’s nothing I can do as crown prince. The nobles humiliate me, and because I can only command the capital’s defense forces and private soldiers, I can’t respond properly. If I continue to hold this position like a puppet… more people will die.”

“So, I’m giving up. Sidmid is also a member of the Einhart family in the broader sense. Even if he becomes the next emperor… the empire can be maintained.”

“…”

“Serpina. Go and tell him. I’ll hold a succession ceremony, so please stop this.”

Serpina couldn’t say anything to Algot, who was muttering with resignation.

His expression looked so sad that… she couldn’t even ask what feelings had led him to make such a decision.

“Really?! That must be true?”

In complete contrast to the dejected Algot, Sidmid was elated when he heard the news.

“Finally, he’s stopping his stubborn reliance on legitimacy. Very well. I’ll set a date immediately. At last, I can bring down the hammer on ungrateful ones like Orlando and Walnut.”

Would it really be alright if Sidmid became emperor?

He was the perpetrator of a cruel massacre.

If someone who committed such acts could get away with it just because of “a power struggle for the crown prince position,” what reason was there for this empire to continue existing?

—While spending time with such rebellious thoughts unbecoming of an imperial family member, one day.

Serpina, who had been summoned by Algot, tilted her head and asked:

“You want me to bring Uncle?”

“Yes. I received a letter from Uncle Kail, who had been in seclusion. He said he wants to attend the enthronement ceremony and would appreciate it if someone could meet him at Heil Castle.”

“He could come directly…”

“You know about Uncle’s strange stubbornness, don’t you?”

“Well…”

Kail von Einhart.

Father’s younger brother, who had been living quietly in seclusion until recently, staying out of the crown prince dispute.

From the time when their father was alive, he had been a somewhat idle figure, keeping his distance from power—but in this situation, if he had supported Algot, his blood relation alone would have been a significant help.

“So I’d appreciate it if you could bring him.”

“But we might be late for the enthronement ceremony…”

“If you use a carriage, you should be able to make the round trip within a day.”

Heil Castle was located in a quiet area not far past the bridge from Einhart Castle.

Anyway… asking Uncle what to do next might be of great help, she thought.

“I understand.”

With that, she departed for Heil Castle by carriage.

Indeed, it didn’t take very long.

But.

The problem was something else entirely.

“Kail, you say? I haven’t seen him…”

“What?”

“Yes… if he had come, he would have informed us. Kail has not come here.”

“I heard he sent a letter to Brother Algot.”

“I’m sorry, but this is the first I’ve heard of it, Princess. How could I lie to you?”

Leaving behind the castle lord who bowed apologetically, Serpina fell into thought.

‘What’s going on? Did Uncle not actually come but sent a letter? Why? He may be frivolous, but he’s not the type to do such pointless things. If it wasn’t him…’

If it wasn’t Kail’s doing, there was only one answer.

‘…Brother Algot lied…?’

Serpina put her hand to her chin, deep in thought.

‘Why would he tell such a lie…?’

Lies, especially troublesome ones like this, always come with reasons.

What could Algot gain from this lie? Obviously nothing.

At most, it was just that I had left Einhart Castle.

And at the very moment she thought that far—

Thump, thump!

‘Could it be… that getting me out of Einhart Castle was the goal itself?’

Suddenly her heart began to race.

The driving force was the clear anxiety enveloping her.

Serpina immediately ran to the carriage and headed back to Einhart Castle.

*

And what greeted Serpina was——

‘…!!!!’

——the sight of the Einhart family’s great mansion, bearing the rise and fall of the imperial family, engulfed in roaring flames.