episode_0028

On the day of the memorial service.

Raoul, who had a heavier responsibility than anyone else, faced the Imperial Palace Guard with a heavy heart on his back.

Those who supported the current emperor within the military, private soldiers of nobles who supported the current emperor, and other troops related to the imperial family were all blocked by his friends and mentors.

One of the Imperial Guard soldiers who saw him called out to Raoul in a trembling voice.

“Count Raoul Berger, immediately drop your weapon and surrender!!!”

“That’s a loud voice. But you know that too. This flow cannot be stopped now.”

Every time Raoul took a step closer, they swallowed their saliva but did not retreat.

“Even if I surrender, I cannot change this trend. And there is a reason why I cannot surrender either. So you guys surrender.”

Raoul did not take up a weapon and scolded them in a calm manner, as if he had just left the village.

“I don’t want to kill you guys.”

The imperial guard also knew it well. Because the opponent was Raoul Bergé.

A monster that cut off the Dragon King’s wings and arms, massacred the Dragon Tribe, slaughtered the leader of a demon beast that was as large as the city, and in the end, along with others, inflicted irreparable injuries on the Demon King.

Although the 2nd prince, who was keeping the 1st prince’s power in check, spread the rumor that the saga was exaggerated, those who had been on the battlefield did not believe the rumor.

“You can’t do that…!”

“I don’t understand. That is an act of throwing away one’s life.”

“We know that best…!”

Raoul could not understand the soldiers who were willing to throw away their lives. These were people who, unlike him, were worth living, but they were willing to throw away their own lives.

Raoul was momentarily at a loss for words at the absurd sight.

“I know very well why 1st Prince Tong and the Count are doing this! But we are the ones entrusted with the duty of guarding this imperial palace! No matter what the reason, we can’t just let the rebels go…!!!”

“… Isn’t there such a thing as an exceptional situation? No one will criticize you.”

“The country is already in chaos right after the war…! If even the Imperial Palace Guard did not do their duty…! Who would do their duty for this country…!!!”

After hearing the answer, Raoul raised his head and made eye contact with them.

It was an unusual behavior for Raoul, who only looked at the ground.

“You guys…”

“It is also our duty to not let the prestige of the Imperial Guard fall to the ground! The Count has never retreated from the demons either!”

Raoul was distressed when he heard that story.

I was tormented by the fact that I had to kill them, the reality of driving them away like this, and the fact that I was ashamed of myself for encouraging them to surrender.

“Indeed.”

Raoul stabbed himself in the abdomen with the blade of his right hand, resulting in a large amount of blood flowing out, soaking his clothes.

“It seems I was the one who was foolish. I apologize here for ignoring your pure pride.”

“Count…”

“So now I will fight with all my heart.”

Raoul held his staff and straightened his posture.

“Raoul Bergé, head of the Bergé family. I will treat you wholeheartedly with the utmost respect.”

Raoul fought them with all his heart and strangled them with all his heart.

However, unlike them, who were honorable, what they encountered afterwards were beasts that were close to scum.

“Was the imperial palace guard truly annihilated? I was hoping it would at least take some time until I could enjoy this drink to the end.”

“They died heroically while doing their duty.”

“I see. These are the people who cannot understand. What good is honor or pride if you die?”

The Emperor, who seemed to have enjoyed an affair with a woman just moments ago, took a swig of wine and began to sneer at Raoul.

“Didn’t they come aiming for Jim’s neck? Hurry up and hit it.”

“… Why did you make fun of the devil’s rain?”

“Well. Immediately after arriving in the Imperial Territory, I found out that I was pregnant and when I saw that woman, I suddenly became irritated. I’m so unhappy, but how dare bugs be happy, it’s annoying.”

Raoul made no reply.

Unlike the Imperial Palace Guard, it was so disgusting and absurd that no words were said.

“If I had to die, I wanted to die at the hands of a beautiful woman who hated me… no, looking at the count’s appearance… oh my. This might not be as bad as this.”

“…Do you have any will to leave?”

“Isn’t this a will that will be ridiculed by future generations anyway? That’s something only idiots with regrets in life do. I greedily enjoyed everything I wanted to enjoy.”

Raoul didn’t even listen to what he said and thrust his staff into the emperor’s heart.

Even though his heart was pierced, the emperor still mocked Raoul without distorting his expression at all.

“But unlike me, the Count is not an idiot. It’s like you can’t enjoy something because you can’t say anything.”

“… You’re ugly.”

“Yes, it will be ugly! By the way, Count. It’s so disgusting that you can’t even say a few words!”

“……”

“Instead of a will… don’t leave a prophecy. Your foolishness will leave indelible scars on those around you! You will die like an unprecedented idiot in history…!”

The emperor mocked Raoul until the end and died.

The ridicule did not stop until the moment of death, but Raoul calmly brushed the blood off his cane and set out to find the second prince.

The second prince hurriedly tried to run away with the treasure, but was unable to shake off Raoul. He had never received proper training in the first place.

“Ship, Count…! Just spare my life…! I will live devotedly to my Liesel…!!!”

“Dedication is not a word you say out of your own mouth.”

“I will do anything as long as it saves my life…! Please…!!!”

“It’s difficult. Because your Majesty must die today.”

The 2nd prince took a step back, but his stride was shorter than Raoul’s, so he was quickly caught up.

“My final mercy is to kill you without pain.”

“If mom and mom know, you…!”

“That is also a story that is impossible to realize. Because all of His Majesty’s deceased royal consorts are also scheduled to die.”

It was the role of the future Empress Penelope to deal with the emperor’s over 100 royal family members and their surviving children.

“Now all you have to do is face death.”

“If you kill me, the Count’s sister will hate you!”

“…… At least you can live.”

“Ha! What are you going to do with your little sister who hates you? Count, you are like my family, so you have to save me!”

“I am not your family.”

Raoul’s hand blade began to vibrate with a humming sound.

“It is your death.”

“Damn, I didn’t choose that old bitch as my fiancee…!”

Before he could finish his sentence, his head was cut off by the blade of Raoul’s hand.

Raoul looked at the blood on his hands and made an unknown expression.

They killed those they didn’t want to kill.

He killed someone who had the attitude that it didn’t matter if he died.

I killed someone I felt like killing.

All of this was done to save someone who did not want to die.

“Liesel…”

Even if the ending is the worst tragedy.

He was willing to bear the heaviest stigma if only his sister could live.

When the black wind cleared, Liesel was breathing heavily, as if she had been struggling to breathe.

“How about it?”

“No… this is a lie… yes… this is a lie. Okay, this is a lie, right? yes? My fiancé can’t do that…!”

“It doesn’t matter whether you deny it or not. Why don’t you at least do a background check to see if this illusion is correct?”

Even if you deny it, the seeds have already been sown.

The seed sown in inner anxiety grew and grew thanks to the words and actions that Liesel had said to Raoul.

“Let me ask you something. Has the 2nd prince ever had any skinship with you?”

“No… That’s because he values chastity before marriage…”

“Right after Raoul met the 2nd prince, didn’t he ever refuse to meet you?”

“Well, that’s because the disease has gotten worse…”

It was all just an excuse.

Because the illusion fit Liesel’s memories like a puzzle, Liesel herself knew better than anyone else that it was true.

Unless you were a person who knew the truth, you couldn’t show such detailed circumstances.

“You, what on earth are you…! Is it a magic beast? Why are you showing me this…! If I had shown it to you earlier… If I had told you in advance… I wouldn’t have said that!”

All the words she had said to Raoul passed through Liesel’s mind.

No, that was closer to something that scratched my brain.

The sharper the words, the deeper and more painful the wound.

‘Traitorous bastard… Demon bastard crazy about killing…’

‘A devil-like person who even killed my friend with his own hands…’

‘I don’t need your escort. So don’t interfere in my life anymore. ‘I don’t care one bit whether you die or not.’

All those sharp words were vivid enough to make me resent my excellent memory.

“Oppa didn’t say anything… If you had told me, I wouldn’t have done this either…!”

“You did it first. I don’t want to hear anything. So that idiot did that?”

“That’s… That’s… I’m just… Anyway, I’m the one who really doesn’t say anything…”

“You are passing the blame until the end. It’s definitely the idiot’s fault for not saying anything… but at least you’re the one who shouldn’t be blamed for that. It’s thanks to someone that you’re alive like this.”

The crow criticized Liesel harshly.

“ㅅ, no, the military minister said the right thing. I devoted myself to being abandoned like a devoted partner. Just like that drunkard trash said. The recipient doesn’t know that. If you thought about it with a little common sense, you would know this.”

Liesel still wanted to believe that the genjutsu was a lie, but she couldn’t.

Because the memories that fit together proved that it was all true.

At least I couldn’t just ignore it. At least I had to meet someone and ask the truth.

“And you tried to secretly watch your brother when he left the mansion, right?”

“……”

“Your brother was also looking at the window of your room until the moment he left. Hoping you would show your face.”

“What…?”

Liesel looked as if she had been hit hard by something.

“That idiot didn’t hate you until the end.”

The crow left those words behind and flapped his wings as he tried to leave the mansion.

“Now, wait a minute…!”

Liesel, unable to let the crow go like this, called the crow over.

“Why on earth are you telling me this…? I need to know that before I can trust you…!”

“I am.”

The crow had a somewhat sad expression.

“I’m doing this to cut down a damn big tree.”

“What…?”

“I will cut down the tree that grew because of my mistake and make that idiot cry for the world to go away.”

It was an answer that Liesel could not understand.

Still, the crow’s voice was so sad that I couldn’t say anything.

“All of this is my fault.”

The crow flew up with a sadder heart than ever.