episode_0011

The blood reflected in the moonlight is quite dark.

Looking at my hands stained dark, I could tell.

I swung my arms until I was exhausted, and then suddenly, only silence flowed. The person who had been beneath me became unrecognizable. Seeing that most of the splattered blood around had hardened, it seemed like a lot of time had passed.

My rapidly beating heart calmed down. Some say revenge is futile. But that wasn’t true. The satisfaction I felt at the moment of ending a life proves that our revenge is not in vain.

But it’s not enough.

Even if the anger has faded, it hasn’t disappeared. An unquenchable thirst for resolution arose. It’s still not enough. Our revenge is not over. Like a volcano that can erupt hot lava at any time, my anger may reappear in some form that cannot be predicted. Perhaps I can do nothing else in this world but hate someone for the rest of my life.

I feel like it wouldn’t matter even if that were the case. If that’s my way of atonement….

Teo….

My Teo….

Memories engraved in the possessed body come to mind.

Even though the owner of the soul has changed, memories from deep within the subconscious rise… Memories of when many siblings were born and excited, memories of hearing the word “sister” for the first time, memories of pushing my younger brother and escaping the palace.

They weren’t my memories, but now they are mine.

This pain is solely mine.

Tears welled up. Soon, tears turned into blood-stained droplets that fell down the face. I didn’t sob, but the droplets soon turned into a stream. That gave an idea of the amount of tears.

“Your Highness….”

Yuria approached.

I looked up at her.

“Yuria.. I, I….”

She smiled through tears.

At least I didn’t want to see her in pain. Strangely, the tears just wouldn’t stop.

Yuria knelt down. Then she hugged me tightly.

“I’m really relieved that you’re safe.”

She didn’t ask anything. Not about my dangerous power, not about my inhuman cruel actions, not even about failing to protect Theo. Nothing at all… She just hugged me, stroking my head as if soothing a child.

Only then could I cry out loud.

I cried uncontrollably, tears streaming down.

*

The man lived a righteous life.

Finding and eradicating humanity’s enemies was the right thing to do.

In the process, he disregarded minor sacrifices. Whether it was putting a strict person on the execution stand, putting an entire family to eternal sleep for silence, or acting falsely in the name of God. He thought it was unavoidable for the sake of doing the right thing.

“God will pity your sacrifice.”

It was something the man often said. He genuinely believed that. Everything was justified in order to eliminate evil. So, if someone suffered unjustly, he considered it an inevitable cost of doing good.

Until he himself became the target of sacrifice!

“Ugh…”

The man groaned as he got up.

It was a bright space. A large mirror stood before him. Through the mirror, he realized he was bound.

“You’re awake.”

A brown-haired man sitting in the corner chair approached.

The man knew who he was.

“Count Daliah.”

“….”

The brown-haired man looked down at the man with a stern expression.

“What happened to my subordinates?”

“They’re all dead. Not a single one left.”

The man, the head of the Inquisition investigating the Primera Kingdom, sighed. The head who was doing the right thing had ultimately failed. He couldn’t stop the evil.

“There’s still one left, isn’t there?”

The head resigned himself. He, too, would not escape unscathed. If there was any solace, it was going peacefully to his subordinates. He couldn’t help but shiver when he remembered the princess who had lost her mind and tried to kill Jimmy before fainting. The irrational princess was a devil herself. Perhaps he could reason with the count. He harbored such an unlikely hope.

“To bring you here intact, I needed a lot of persuasion.”

“Thank you for that.”

“Now it’s time for me to receive that repayment. Tell me everything about your heretic investigation bureau. The locations of each branch, the subjects under investigation in other branches, the reporting system, and even the key personnel.”

“If I spill everything, will you spare my life?”

“…”

The viscount fell silent. That was his answer.

“If you divulge everything, I will let you pass without feeling any pain.”

“Haha, the demeanor of a guardian knight is no small matter. In the end, we have lost the enemies of the royal family.”

“Be thankful for the mercy of the princess.”

“Ah! That fearsome woman is still alive. But even so, isn’t she just a woman? Or perhaps, is she made to bear children to preserve the blood of the nobility?”

Crack-

“Aargh!!”

As if indicating he could no longer tolerate it, the viscount snapped the steward’s finger. Though overwhelmed by pain, the steward desperately held back.

“Do not test my patience.”

“Huff… Even for the subordinates who are dying, I will not yield.”

Seeing the uncooperative steward, the viscount sighed deeply. He threw off his coat and rolled up his sleeves slowly.

“It seems this will be a long conversation after all.”

Watching the viscount, the man slowly closed his eyes.

Several hours later, tremendous screams and sobs began to erupt. However, only the viscount could hear them. It was an isolated space where no one could come. The complete cessation of the screams came a day and a half later.

The man, who had believed he was doing the right thing, regretted it in his final moments. He realized that sacrifices were worthless. His merciless life was possible because he was not the target of violence. In the end, he cried and begged like a child. Begging for forgiveness, he disclosed everything the viscount wanted.

Finally, his sinful life came to an end. Whether the man who had done right would peacefully rest in God’s embrace or suffer even after death, no one could know.

*

As Yulia wept in her arms, Blair returned.

Her head was drenched in sweat, her breath labored. It was clear how desperately she had run.

She abandoned the demeanor of a knight and crawled toward Theo as if possessed, clutching the chilled Theo and wailing.

In that moment, she was not a guardian knight. Over the years living as Theo’s mother, he had become more than a lord to serve; he had become a precious family member. Her cry was not that of a subject but of a mother.

The agony of a mother who had lost her child was unbearable to hear.

…

Chirp chirp chirp—

A week had passed.

The Dalia estate seemed to have recovered from the tragedy, with the garden flourishing and birds chirping. I rose from bed with bleary eyes.

I had dreamt of that day again yesterday.

It’s time for it to become familiar, yet the pain doesn’t subside when I dream. This is the destiny I must bear for life. The memory of that day repeating eternally. A dreadful nightmare recurring like a curse.

I moved my iron-like body towards the reception room.

As my steps lengthened, my mind gradually awakened from the nightmare.

Yes… I have things to do today as well.

Three people were waiting in the reception room.

Dahlia Viscount, the fourth guardian knight of the royal family.

Blair de Dahlia, the third guardian knight of the royal family.

Yulia, the lady-in-waiting of the royal family.

And me, Princess Trixie Green, had arrived, so the fallen royal family’s council would begin. The three rose from their seats to greet me. I took my place furthest from the door.

“Speak.”

There’s no need for unnecessary words. Let’s get straight to the point.

“The Secret Division of the Inquisition exists only once per country.”

“Has the Primula Kingdom’s division been annihilated?”

The branch of the Primula Kingdom that found us, at least no one returned alive from this mansion. The count gestured to Blair.

“There are no survivors in their branch either. I haven’t spared a single one.”

“The fact that they were investigating us?”

“It’s said that it didn’t flow into other branches or headquarters. It seems they wanted to keep it strictly secret until they established power.”

The information from a person called the chief couldn’t be completely trusted, but nothing unusual had happened until now, a week later.

“But if they don’t report back to the homeland for a long time, they’ll be suspicious. If the capabilities of the Inquisition focus on the Primula Kingdom, it will be dangerous.”

“They send reports to the homeland every two weeks. The time is coming soon.”

Sending letters or sending messengers directly is impossible. We need to find another way.

“The locations of the other branches?”

“We’ve identified the locations of the Republic and the Allied Nations’ branches.”

“In the end, did they make him talk?”

The count’s expression darkened slightly. He wasn’t a torturer or an interrogator. It wouldn’t have been a very pleasant experience. But it was the count who persuaded him not to kill the chief and to extract the information.

“I can do anything for Her Highness the Princess.”

The count looked at me with determined eyes.

“Alright. We should attack the branches of both the Republic and the Allied Nations at the same time. If the branches scattered across three countries are annihilated simultaneously, the Inquisition won’t easily find us.”

“Understood. Then Blair and I will split up to handle it.”

“No, please take charge of the Republic together. I will go to the Allied Nations with Yulia.”

“But-.”

Blair tried to respond with a worried look.

“You both are precious to me. Please don’t go separately in case of any unforeseen danger.”

“The safety of Her Highness the Princess is more important than our lives….”

“Our strength is sufficient right now. And we need to experience real battles to wield this power.”

The count and Blair eventually complied with my will.

There were a few more matters left.

“Please don’t address me as a princess for the time being.”

“!”

“The day I reclaim the empire, I will completely reclaim my name as well.”

​

There was a moment of silence.

​

“I will find and kill everyone, including the clergy and those who made us like this, who has even the slightest connection to Theo’s death.”

“….”

“When I enter the palace, the first thing I will do is prepare Theo’s body. As per the customs of the empire, I will hold a funeral for him as the crown prince.”

​

Blair’s eyes seemed to glisten as she looked at me.

​

“Until then, I will live as Beatrice de Dalia.”

“I will follow Beatrice’s will.”

​

The three of them bowed their heads towards me.

​

“As soon as we finish organizing the overseas branches of the Inquisition, we will immediately start preparing for admission to the academy. As planned, into the knight department.”

​

That was the end of the meeting.

​

​

Now everything became clear.

In the novel, Beatrice was a rebel who had infiltrated the Imperial Academy. The last noble trying to reclaim the stolen empire. The bright noble lady she had shown was all fake, a fabricated persona. And I, too, ended up following her actions.

​

Was this what the author who possessed me wanted? I’m not sure. Regardless, it must be fate that I live for revenge just like her. I will willingly walk this path. I, too, seek revenge.

​

Meeting the protagonist or whatever is no longer important to me. The author may hope that I will be entwined with him, but even if the novel revolves around him, even if he is a real person possessed like me, I don’t care. I won’t forgive anyone who gets in my way.

​

Karl Meiner, you may want to become a loyal subject of the empire under a false identity, but I will overturn the empire under a false identity.

​

The descendant of the Green Emperor has returned.

To reclaim the stolen inheritance.

The heir of a nightmare.

-The End