episode_0018

The maids with somber expressions hurriedly changed their positions.

Duke Shulein quickly took a seat at the tea table.

The Empress pressed her temples with two fingers and poured herself a cup from the teapot.

“Father, what on earth is happening?”

The Duke glanced around once more.

“It seems that a mouse has sneaked into the Granard estate.”

It was a whisper so faint that only his daughter could hear it.

Clank.

The teapot descended, but the cup remained half empty.

“Surely, the information hasn’t leaked, has it?”

His face and voice showed no difference from usual.

No matter what happened.

There was an attitude of unwavering composure.

“That’s… a considerable amount of documents seems to have vanished into thin air…”

As if fearing the response to come, the Duke paused for a moment.

“And then…?”

“If that were to be revealed, it is expected that a significant number of nobles who supported Mama and me would turn against us.”

The Empress’s smile soured.

“And the guards? Surely, there were some, weren’t there?”

The glare in her eyes was filled with intense anger.

Finally, the Duke, looking anxious, clasped his hands and could only lower his gaze.

“A veteran mercenary was guarding, but he was fatally pierced through the heart.”

His voice, diminishing towards the end, was clearly trembling.

“A mercenary? Father, how could you handle such matters so carelessly?”

A soft voice, almost carried by the spring breeze, came out, angry yet not angry.

In that familiar yet peculiar sense of alienation, she looked up again.

And there, unexpectedly, the Empress was smiling brightly.

It was a face that anyone could see was strained with happiness.

But Duke Shulein knew well.

His daughter, different from others since birth, was angrier than ever.

“Did I not specifically tell you? Never trust mercenaries. Always deploy three or more knights from the ducal house. Was it really so difficult to grant me that simple request? Huh? And then, when trouble arises, you come running like this, a month late. Right now.”

“…Many words came to mind.

He wanted to explain immediately.

The viscount, who had kept his mouth tightly shut, wore a perplexed expression on his face.

It was as his daughter had said.

Arranging a few knights was not a difficult task. However, the viscount’s men were not mere idlers. Given the substantial amount of money involved, they needed to make a profit.

For them, guarding an uneventful secret library for a year was not only excessive waste but also incredibly unpleasant, turning them into disgruntled soldiers who should be sweeping through battlefields.

Yet, the viscount had to hold back what he wanted to say. If he didn’t, he knew from experience that it would eventually invite further humiliation.

“I apologize, Mama,” the viscount bowed his head. It wasn’t difficult for him to bow to his daughter, now the most noble woman in the empire. However, whether this act stemmed from a sense of incompetence or the fear built up over the years towards his daughter, he couldn’t tell.

“Now, what should we do?” After much deliberation, he managed to utter these words.

But the empress maintained a composed expression, as if she held all the cards in her hands. “First, lines need to be drawn.”

“Are you suggesting we kill the artist?”

As cautiously as one would check on an injured person’s condition, the viscount asked, but his immediate response was akin to scolding a misbehaving child.

“Father, why are you like this? You’ve become a grand duke, so how long will you keep playing the fool?”

It was a look of disdain that never seemed to grow familiar. The embarrassment reached its peak, and his face, already flushed, turned even redder.

“….”

“Are there people in the empire who don’t know that Gerund is your dog?”

She was undoubtedly his daughter, unquestionably born of his wife. Yet, at moments like this, it felt as if a different colossal beast was looking down at him.

“If you dare…”

“Present the Emperor with a personally caught Gerund fish. Then, no one will dare to doubt your father. Even if someone were to doubt, well, what can be done? You wouldn’t want to be discarded like a Gerund, so you’ll take care of it yourself. And just that fact alone… the power of evidence will evaporate. If someone claims your involvement is a setup, that will be the end of it.”

The viscount’s face was filled with bewilderment. It seemed reasonable at first glance, but the risk was too great.

“But if that happens, won’t Gerund betray—”

“Father.”

In the end, the Empress’s voice cut him off quietly. It was as chilling as the fading early morning mist in autumn.

“Haah, do I have to explain everything in such detail?”

The Empress, as if unable to bear the growing irritation, tilted her head and touched her forehead with one hand. Facing her once again, there was only deep resignation, having ultimately accepted her father’s incompetence, as if unable to comprehend it.

“If you fear disclosure, cut out your tongue and chop off your hands. Then, after eliminating Gerund’s limbs and family without leaving any evidence, set fire to everything. Understand? Instill overwhelming terror, ensuring no room for any other thoughts.”

The words were uttered without a hint of hesitation or reluctance. The moment the viscount heard those cruel words, he was convinced. Indeed, his daughter lacked several crucial aspects of being human, far more than he, who had committed all sorts of atrocities. But even if that were the case, there was no other sharp move left now. To survive, he had no choice but to listen. Moreover, his daughter, who had made him a viscount, had never been wrong even once.

“…Yes, understood.”

“Do you know who’s behind this rat’s scheme?”

“There’s no evidence, but it’s undoubtedly Viscount Pellios.”

“I see. In this situation, there’s no one else who would plot such a thing.”

The Empress refilled her cup from the teapot once again.

“Originally, I had planned to remove him a little later, but this can’t go on like this. Get rid of him as soon as possible. Once he’s gone, the other two will naturally attach themselves to us.”

It was an eerily quiet morning.

It seemed like it might rain today, perhaps spring showers.

The blue sky, visible in patches due to the thick clouds that had gathered overnight, was gradually narrowing.

It had been three days since I narrowly escaped my second brush with death.

Squeak, squeak—

I was sitting on the bench swing by the pond in front of Hwangjagung Palace.

It was a bench-style swing designed to accommodate up to four people.

I heard it was a gift from the emperor to the empress.

Despite the somewhat ominous creaking of metal against metal, I was savoring a rare moment of peace after safely overcoming two brushes with death.

“Stop swinging, will you?”

“…….”

Beside me, Astia Levoln, who had returned as my escort knight after a long wandering, sat with a rather displeased look, arms crossed and eyes tightly shut.

“I said stop swinging…”

Ignoring me, I continued to swing, and she spoke without even looking at me.

Her attitude was imposing and unyielding, much like an older sister dealing with a younger brother.

“Stop because you’re being reckless.”

At the end of her threatening tone, memories resurfaced of being slammed into the dirt by her clenched fist, grinding my teeth to the point of breaking. Eventually, I had no choice but to stop.

In the distance, three men appeared.

Their luxurious clothes, adorned with gold and silver threads on a white background, clearly revealed their status as nobles of the Mersen Empire.

As they approached, the anger etched on their faces became clearer.

At the forefront was Marquis Felios, the leader of the anti-empress faction.

Behind him, Viscount Triane and Baron Belidman followed closely on either side.

These three were the only anti-empress nobles in the empire.

Of course, just because they opposed the empress didn’t mean they were pro-emperor or had good relations with me.

Yet here they were, within plain sight.

Marquis Felios and his entourage simply stared at me with fierce determination.

Without a single nod, he abruptly turned his head and went on his way. Those shameless people.

After I secretly delivered the evidence of Geurund’s corruption to them, it became a daily occurrence. They would visit the emperor every morning, fervently appealing to the fact that Shurain Duke was behind Geurund’s corruption, based on the materials I provided. However, even as the emperor, there was nothing much he could do. After all, it was Shurain Duke who had captured Geurund for his corruption. Of course, there was no way to catch him red-handed. It was precisely because Geurund’s body had been excessively mutilated. His eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hands, and feet—all thoroughly destroyed, rendering him unable to even express pain. In fact, his survival itself was considered miraculous due to his wretched state. Could anyone see that and remain oblivious? It was a warning—a blatant threat that if betrayed, one would be so thoroughly destroyed that recovery would be impossible. As a result, even though Duke Pelios revealed all the evidence of Geurund’s corruption, not a whisper arose in the empress faction. Nevertheless, temporarily cutting off the substantial flow of funds into Shurain Duke’s coffers could be seen as a significant gain. I watched as Duke Pelios, who had distanced himself, grew smaller. Duke Pelios. In the novel, he emerges as a loyalist who cannot forget the fallen empire. Although he could never achieve it, his only dream was to help the hero save the world and rebuild the ruins of Mersen. Despite being as grizzled as Shurain Duke, he remained unmarried, unable to forget his first love, Shurain Duke’s younger sister. Originally, Shurain and Pelios were the only two dukes in the empire, destined to be rivals as the empire’s fate dictated. They had spent years in enmity and eventually became enemies. However, suddenly, Shurain Duke’s beloved announced her intention to marry the heir of their enemy house, rejecting the engagement arranged by the Shurain family. This was nothing short of tarnishing the great name of Shurain, which had been revered since the birth of the empire. Therefore, at that time, the head of the Shurain family ordered an assassin to kill his younger sister.

Therefore, Duke Pellios.

Like water and oil, he could never be together with Duke Schraine.

Attacking Duke Schraine so persistently with just two nobles was all for that reason.

However, the attack had little effect.

Because of that, the Empress now.

Would want nothing more than to immediately kill the bothersome Duke Pellios.

But his death would pose a bit of a problem for me as well.

Leaving the Empress’s hostile faction intact would be much better for my plans.

So for now.

I must save Duke Pellios, who has become the target of the Empress.

As I pondered this, a familiar-looking woman and a man appeared.

The woman, with her bright blonde hair that never lost its luster even on a cloudy day, and eyes as blue as a clear sky from afar, was undoubtedly Elaine, who had come with a middle-aged man.