Whoosh.
Whish.
The cold wind blew.
“…Who am I even talking to right now?”
Lian let out a hollow laugh.
It was unfortunate that he missed 3358 who disappeared in an instant. He paused for a moment, wondering if he had pointed in the wrong direction.
“Did I point to this way while talking about that way?”
The blonde knight scratched his head after lightly jumping down from the outer wall.
“Well, you should listen to what people say properly. This isn’t my fault. 3358….”
Lian raised his head and looked in the direction where Klisha disappeared for a moment.
By the way, the eyes of the escaped prisoner… it seemed he had seen them somewhere before?
* * *
Eugene felt the blood in his body go cold as he realized the tragedy that had occurred in the central garden of the Inner Palace.
Even just hearing the brief report from Zenya’s messenger, he could more than guess the cause and effect of this matter.
They say ten years can change even mountains and rivers…
As more and more time passed after the defeat, the beliefs in reconstruction and revenge gradually weakened, and recently, he even heard that there has been a noticeable increase in the movement to value the current stability and peace.
In the end, the old men of Zenya, who were so anxious that they hadn’t noticed when did they fall for the cleverly laid trap.
Lian Bartier….
The Emperor’s younger brother, who had been dismissed by Zenya as “just a frivolous scoundrel born with noble blood” was, until the very end, no different from a wolf hiding its sharp fangs.
They should have trusted what they believed. What reason could they have that ‘Lian’ would have to betray his own brother?
“How foolish….”
Before the messenger could even finish speaking, Eugene had hurriedly run toward the Inner Palace and witnessed a cruel scene in front of his eyes.
Just like during the massacre of that day, no, even more brutal and flawless than before, there stood ‘Ian Perza’.
Red fog swirled around the Emperor as he raised one hand and retrieved the mana he had released.
Blood.
The reason the Emperor’s power was so terrifying is precisely that. Blood contains water after all…
The one who controls the water element. In other words, the person also controls blood.
The assassins who were raised with great care in Zenya had all died without even being able to swing their swords.
The Emperor, indifferently glancing at the bodies of those who had been chopped into pieces and died, briefly pondered something, and furrowed his brow. Then, with a pace that wasn’t particularly fast or slow, he stepped out of the central garden.
The eyes of the black-haired, red-eyed young man sank heavily.
“One must have resilience.”
“….”
“My lord.”
“We are heading back.”
Eugene clenched his teeth.
“With this, the old dogs of Zenya will no longer be able to act rashly again.”
It was a result that he had expected, but witnessing it firsthand, the weight of it was truly different.
* * *
3358, dressed in a neatly tailored yellow top and bottom… No, Klisha headed to the main palace while recalling her childhood memories.
Since she had already come this far, and there was nothing particularly wrong with going to the Inner Palace… It was only natural to go and meet him!
In fact, she came all the way to the capital out of anger. But how can meeting His Majesty the Emperor be so easy? She was in a state where she couldn’t even enter the threshold of the Grand Audience Hall, which was accessible to everyone.
Still, whether by chance or fate, an opportunity has arrived, and since she was already here, she might as well meet him. It’s not like he would kill her, right? After all, she was, ahem, the daughter of a war hero. Hmph!
Klisha grabbed her red hair, which had lost its shine and was almost on the verge of falling for not being washed off for five days, and chose her words carefully as she mumbled.
“Uh, greetings? No. It’s an honor to meet the Sun of the Empire? No, that’s not either…”
What should I say when I meet His Majesty?
“Anyway, to put it simply, I agree to the divorce. However, exile. Could you perhaps exempt me from being exiled?… No, doesn’t this sound too rude? Hmm… I respectfully beg you to spare me from being exiled?”
As Klisha walked, muttering to herself, a large lake appeared in front of her eyes.
“Oh! That’s great. Let’s wash up before going.”
However, Klisha, who ran to the lakeside with light steps, was momentarily speechless at the sight of her reflection in the water.
The full moon, coldly shining in the pitch-black night sky.
The white moonlight pushed even the clouds aside and settled upon the summer lake.
And the reflection in the picturesque lake.
The role model of escapees, 3358.
Even if you look at it favorably, she looked like a homeless person.
“….”
Klisha lost all motivation.
She trudged along the lake, then lay down on the grass near the lake with her arms as a pillow.
‘What should I do? Even if I arrive at the main palace, I don’t think I can approach His Majesty.’
It definitely wasn’t like this when she left home. Why has it turned out like this in just a week? If her nanny saw her now, she’d collapse a dozen more times. Even though she was the pride of Schmarin, the representative beauty of Schmarin, the ‘7th Red Reed Maiden’ of Schmarin…
It was just last spring when her father, nanny, and servants all came out to the competition hall, waving their placards at the beauty contest.
The faces of the butlers and servants, who were so happy that the ‘true’ Red Reed had finally emerged from the family, flashed before her eyes. It certainly wasn’t because of her father’s influence that she won….
At that moment, as if to interrupt Klisha’s train of thoughts, a murmur was heard from somewhere, and it gradually got closer.
“…No… We….”
“Oh my… It wasn’t our intention….”
“No, we should… escape….”
“?”
Klisha stood up, brushing off the dirt and grass from her body as she expanded her senses.
“Really… falsely accused… Your Majesty….”
Your Majesty?
Klisha quickly hid behind a large tree nearby.
‘Wow. This is a big problem. I haven’t done anything wrong, but this is all of a sudden! What should I say to start the conversation? Um… Hello? I, I’m the Empress?’
Klisha took a couple of deep breaths to prepare herself mentally, but just as she was about to step forward, a black shadow suddenly appeared behind her and stretched out a long arm to cover Klisha’s mouth.
“!”
The black-clad assassin grabbed Klisha’s arm as she was about to counterattack and whispered in her ear.
“Lady. Be quiet for now.”
“….”
“….”
As the group of people, arm in arm, disappeared into the darkness in the distance, the young man with black hair and red eyes lowered his mask slightly and spoke.
“Lady. What are you doing here?”
“….”
“And… what are those clothes? 3358?”
“….”
A sense of resentment and shame welled up in Klisha’s eyes, and she took a step back from Eugene.
“The clothes, well, I should rather ask you.”
Klisha’s almond-colored eyes darkened slightly as she looked Eugene up and down.
“Why are you dressed like that, Archduke, no, Chairman Tomma?”
“….”
Tomma Ryuiken. No, Eugene Wigner, the Archduke of Servan Empire, was once again at a loss for words at Klisha’s sudden counterattack.
* * *
Oh?
The blonde knight, who had been watching from a distance, curled up the corner of his mouth into a smile.
‘Who is this?’
A beautiful assassin with black hair and red eyes….
Isn’t that Eugene Wigner, the Archduke of Servan, whom His Majesty persistently told them to track down whenever they seemed to have forgotten?
Despite having planted someone so long ago in Zenya, there were only rumors about him and no one had ever seen the person in real life. He actually thought he might be dead already.
It was a famous rumour even before the war that the illegitimate child of Servan had black hair and red eyes, and the claim that the rumors made that he was a beauty unrivaled by any man or woman was unconfirmed.
His brother, whose standard was so high that it almost reached the sky past the top of his head, had already called Eugene Wigner a ‘pretty boy’ years ago. That must be true.
Lian briefly recalled the events from the past.
“Servan’s illegitimate child.”
“Yes?”
“I told you to find him before. Where is he?”
“….”
“Why? You haven’t found him yet?”
“Your Majesty. Just because you tell us to find him doesn’t mean it can be done right away. It’s been 10 years since Eugene Wigner has disappeared. He washed his identity and went undercover before the war even ended. The Royal Knights are not fortune tellers, and just because you tell him to appear anywhere, he won’t just show up…”
“Find him. Stop wasting your time on useless things.”
“…..”
And the next day.
“So did you find Eugene?”
“….If I had found him, I would have already reported to you.”
“When are you going to find him? What are you even doing?”
“No, Brother! How can you just keep pestering me to find him when I don’t even know what he looks like!”
“…A pretty boy.”
“Eh?”
“Black hair, red eyes. Pretty boy.”
“……”
Perhaps because he was such a person of great interest, and a lack of information other than his initial evasive movements, all Lian ever heard was his name occasionally. He suspected that Servan’s snakes must be fishing under the name of Eugene Wigner….
To think he would appear like this, all limbs intact.
It was just as His Majesty described him.
Black hair and red eyes. The only difference was that he was no longer the pretty boy, but rather a handsome young man… Maybe?
Twenty minutes ago.
Lian paused his steps, which had been heading toward the spire, and decided to follow the red-haired 3358.
As for the stray cats on the spire who had to be left alone, the Royal Guards waiting nearby would take care of catching them.
The ‘patriotic 3358’ who had escaped with difficulty could easily be considered a traitor with his head cut off cleanly. So Lian felt a sense of responsibility and decided to follow quietly.
However, for some reason, the escaped prisoner seemed to know the way to the main palace, so he was a little suspicious.
But 3358, who had been walking briskly, suddenly stopped in front of the lake between the Inner Palace and the main palace, clutching his head.
Just as Lian was about to speak, thinking that he (Klisha) must have realized he had gotten lost.
He sensed the steps of his brother, who was venting his frustration after being used as bait from the Inner Palace, along with the aides pleading and complaining, approaching. So he hid for a moment.
And now.
What caught Lian’s eye was.
Eugene Wigner’s meeting with 3358.
“What a jackpot, eh?”
The appearance of Eugene Wigner, well, if someone were to ask him. It wouldn’t be so surprising if he showed up in person at today’s event where all of Zenya’s assassins had gathered.
That 3358, who felt familiar from somewhere… Lian could clearly sense from his eyes and tone that his concern and loyalty towards His Majesty were genuine.
Servan’s spy.
“Haha.”
It seemed like it had been a long time since Lian had been fooled so cleanly.
If this was the feeling of betrayal, well. It didn’t feel very good.
“I’ll ask him the whole story after I catch him.”
The smile vanished from Lian’s blue eyes, and a fierce rune of the north wind wrapped around his hand like a biting cold winter.
