episode_0107

“Y-You! How utterly rude!”

Stella pointed a trembling finger at Arina, her voice shaking.

Tears dripped from her wide, golden eyes, glistening with sorrow.

This was the first time she had ever faced such blatant criticism.

No one had ever dared to lay a hand on the treasured jewel of the Tronbia Ducal House.

“Forgive… Sniff… I won’t forgive you! Don’t you dare look down on House Tronbia!”

“Oh, now you’re crying?”

Though she gnashed her teeth in anger, there was nothing intimidating about it.

Despite her self-centered nature, she was inherently gentle to the core.

A life spent like a sheltered flower in a greenhouse had left her utterly incapable of proper anger.

“Hic… Sniff… Waaah…!”

This reaction was unexpected. Even Arina, who had been ruthlessly spitting venom, couldn’t bring herself to push further.

In the past, she wouldn’t have cared if someone cried—especially if that someone was a woman. She would’ve only grown angrier.

But.

“Uh, hey…”

She couldn’t be the same as she was back then.

The very women she had once hated and despised had helped her countless times.

Now that she had fully embraced her identity as a woman, her misogynistic tendencies had all but vanished.

Above all, she didn’t want to show such a venomous side of herself in front of Ian.

“S-Sorry…”

She could now understand the pain of having the person she loved stolen by a rival—and being deceived on top of it.

Had she lost Ian to another woman, she would’ve cried even harder than Stella was now.

Then again, how could anyone blame them? Ian was such a good man that even she had fallen for him. It was only natural other women would be drawn to him too.

Arina gently patted Stella’s back as the girl hiccuped through her tears.

The atmosphere had grown too heavy for a stroll, so Ian spoke up.

“Should we head back for now?”

The group returned not to the ruined castle but to the Tronbia Ducal House.

After a night had passed, the key figures of the incident had gathered to sort out the unresolved issues.

With the leaders of the rebellion, the Emperor, and the Pope all in one place, this was effectively a summit.

“The most pressing matter seems to be the issue regarding the Hero’s Party.”

Arkhazal was the first to nod in agreement.

“Indeed. To think the Hero’s Party had fallen so far… It’s shocking.”

“Hmph. As if you didn’t know. Weren’t you the one who tried to use me as a breeding stud under the guise of the Goddess’s revelation?”

Arina sneered at the Pope’s shameless pretense of ignorance.

Given that Cecil, the Kingdom’s Swordmaster, had received the intel, there was no way the Emperor and the Pope hadn’t been informed.

Just as Arina was about to press further, the Duke of Tronbia intervened.

“Enough, Riel Frost. We don’t have the luxury to worry about conflicts with other nations right now.”

The immediate priorities were lifting Arina’s nationwide bounty and tracking down the Hero’s Party.

They planned to officially clear Arina’s name and reveal the truth.

But coming from the mouths of those who had assassinated the King, any claims about the Hero’s Party’s corruption would lack credibility. The idea of the Hero’s Party’s fall from grace was already hard to believe.

It would only look like the rebels were fabricating justifications for their coup.

To prove their legitimacy, they needed the cooperation of the other two nations.

“The Empire will actively assist in verifying the facts and apprehending the Hero’s Party. We’ll also revoke the bounty.”

Emperor Aetree swiftly pledged his support. He had always resented the Kingdom’s unilateral actions.

Though he had personally issued Riel Frost’s arrest warrant, he had never been comfortable with it.

“Hah. So you’re pinning everything on the Kingdom while washing your hands clean?”

Kyle, still bound, smirked from his seat.

“It’s true the Kingdom spearheaded branding Riel Frost a criminal and capturing her, but we didn’t act alone. The Empire and the Holy Nation were fully informed and cooperated. You knew and went along with it.”

“Because we couldn’t let the Kingdom monopolize a force like Riel Frost. We had no choice.”

“Which just means it was all for your own greed, no?”

Tensions flared between the Emperor and Kyle, their gazes sharp as blades.

The Duke of Tronbia stepped in to mediate.

“That’s enough. The pressing issue isn’t that. Now that we’ve decided to help Miss Arina, capturing the Hero’s Party is essential. The Blaze Knight Order, Swordmaster Cecil Astoria, and the Hero’s Party—aside from Grace, the Holy Knight Commander, the pillars defending the frontlines are effectively gone.”

Even now, the Demon King’s forces continued their assault.

With the civil war draining their troops and resources, the warfront was deteriorating rapidly.

“Shouldn’t the traitor stay quiet? If you hadn’t aided the rebellion, things wouldn’t have come to this. We wouldn’t have wasted soldiers on infighting, and the Blaze Knight Order and the Hero’s Party could’ve returned.”

“Your Majesty.”

Kyle cut off the Duke, scanning the room.

“Do you really think Riel Frost, who holds a grudge against all of us, would cooperate so easily?”

“That is a valid concern. Riel Frost—do you intend to release the Blaze Knight Order?”

“If you stop treating me as an enemy, I’ll consider it.”

If the frontlines collapsed and they lost the war against the Demon King, even Arina wouldn’t be spared.

In truth, she had no choice but to free them.

‘And Marika…’

The final battle in the Holy Nation. The moment she absorbed demonic energy and attacked Marika.

Though the memory was hazy, Marika’s smile remained vivid in her mind.

It clung to her thoughts like a stubborn, unsettling shadow.

That smile—praying to the heavens even as death loomed.

The reappearance of the Saintess in the childhood friend who had coldly betrayed her… It weighed on her heart.

“Very well. Then what after capturing the Hero’s Party? From what I’ve heard, Miss Arina has been wandering with the intent to take revenge on all her former comrades.”

“Wait, I’ve been confused for a while now. Duke Tronbia—are you the Kingdom’s new ruler? I heard the leader of the rebellion—no, the revolution—was someone else.”

The Emperor, having interrupted the Duke, turned his gaze toward Ian.

Typically, the leader of a successful rebellion would become King.

Yet, since the meeting began, Ian had remained silent, merely observing. Now, for the first time since entering the room, he spoke.

“That… hasn’t been decided yet.”

“You staged a coup without even choosing a King? How reckless.”

Ian had no desire for the throne—saving Arina was enough for him. He planned to leave the crown to the Duke.

He never considered himself fit to rule.

“I don’t need the throne either. The responsibility is too heavy.”

“But as I’ve said before, marrying the Princess…”

“I won’t force you. I can’t send my precious daughter as a concubine.”

Though the Duke seemed to have given up on matching his daughter with Ian, he remained firm on another matter.

For reasons unclear, he seemed determined to place Ian on the throne.

“I believe there’s no one more suited to be King than you. The late King cared only for himself—or rather, the Foldragon family’s interests. He was willing to discard everything else. A man unfit to rule.”

“With all due respect, I, too, abandoned everything for Arina. The Kingdom would be no different.”

“But you acted for the best outcome. I trust you’d make this a better nation. Besides, wouldn’t the world’s greatest mage make for an ideal Queen?”

The rulers of all three nations coveted her.

The Duke’s resolve was unshakable, leaving no room for refusal. This was all his doing—he had a duty to see it through.

Finally, Ian scratched his head in frustration and relented.

“Fine. But give me time.”

“Understood. I’ll handle governance as regent until you’re ready.”

The Duke nodded in satisfaction, then glanced at Arina.

How to deal with the Hero’s Party? The biggest question rested on her shoulders.

Though they were essential to defeating the Demon King, if Arina—who had even defeated the Guardian—refused to forgive them, there was no stopping her.

As all eyes turned to her, Arina lowered her gaze and spoke.

“Honestly… I don’t know anymore.”

What if her former comrades were also victims, puppeteered by the Porter?

What if, like Marika, the others could return to their old selves?

Would punishing them truly be right? But—

‘Don’t ask for forgiveness now…’

Even if this was all the Porter’s doing, even if her comrades bore no blame…

The rift between them had grown too deep. The idea of joining forces to defeat the Demon King as before was unimaginable.

“I’ll have to talk to them once.”

Not as they were now, but once their minds were fully restored.

What decision she’d make then, she couldn’t yet say.

“I need to see Marika. I’ll wake her up first and talk.”

Naturally, their next destination was decided.