ITETP Chapter 130

* * *

Allice couldn’t control her fluttering heart.

 

Finally, it’s today. She was finally going to meet the former emperor—Raios’s father.

 

It was a few days ago when they arrived at the former emperor’s villa in the resort of Lipton, but they hadn’t met him until now. Apparently, there had been a misunderstanding about the date they were arriving, and he had been away for a while. And now, after a few days, the former emperor had finally returned to the villa.

 

“It’s been a while, Raios.”

 

At that moment, a man entered the living room. Allice’s eyes widened as she turned around. Former Emperor Wilhelm Geranze was still breathtakingly handsome and astonishingly young. His hair shone like the sun, golden and bright, and his eyes were a deep blue. He resembled the current emperor, Yustio.

 

I heard the former emperor is in his fifties! But how could he look the same age as his son Raios? Without any exaggeration, Wilhelm looked like a man in his twenties.

 

“M-My name is Allice Windsor. I-It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty.” Allice greeted him nervously, and Wilhelm burst into hearty laughter.

 

“Yes, Lady Allice. I’ve heard the rumors that my son’s heart has been stolen by a lady. How is it? Does Raios treat you well?”

 

“H-He always treats me well, more than I deserve.”

 

Wilhelm laughed again at her words. “Yes, I would expect so. Raios takes after me. He would give his liver and gallbladder to his woman.” With that, the former emperor took his seat, and Raios and Allice also sat on the opposite sofa.

 

Cutting a cigar, Raios said calmly, “Lady Allice is the woman I love. I hope you will come to like her as well, Father.”

 

Wilhelm narrowed his eyes at that. “What about Lady Danae? She didn’t come with you?”

 

Raios put the cigar in his mouth. Lighting it, he answered indifferently, “There will be a chance to see her someday.”

 

“I see. That’s unfortunate. I would have liked to have tea time with Lady Danae at least once.”

 

Allice was deeply moved by his words. Raios had been seeing Dana for the past three years and had never once introduced her to the former emperor. It was clear that Raios only seriously considered her.

 

“Well, she’s not really worth the expectation.” Raios exhaled smoke after answering.

 

Wilhelm’s eyes narrowed again, and he looked at his son with a smirk. “Son.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You smoke a unique cigar.”

 

“…”

 

“I used to enjoy that too.”

 

Huh? Allice’s ears perked up. Is the cigar Raios is smoking unique?

 

It was when Raios’s eyebrows furrowed.

 

“Ah, pardon me.” Then, a man with platinum blond hair entered the room. “I’m really sorry for being late.”

 

Dad! Allice looked displeased and sent a disgruntled look his way. Why did he come so late?

 

Since arriving in Lipton, Carl had been almost too busy to see. Allice had no idea what he was doing. Since they arrived, her mom had been sick in bed, unable to come out. In that case, her dad should have been there on time.

 

It’s rude to the former emperor. He should have arrived earlier and waited. What if the former emperor felt offended?

 

Allice quickly checked Wilhelm’s expression. However,

 

“…Carl Windsor.”

 

There was no sign of displeasure on Wilhelm’s face. On the contrary…

 

He seems uncomfortable?

 

Surprisingly, it really seemed so. Wilhelm’s face stiffened as he raised the corners of his mouth.

 

“It’s been a long time. A very long time indeed.”

 

It was a noticeably uncomfortable greeting, but Carl smiled naturally.

 

“Haha, yes. When was the last time we saw each other?”

 

Allice tilted her head in confusion. Was it just her? Was the former Emperor rolling his eyes and avoiding Carl’s gaze? Right, it must be my imagination.

 

How could there be someone in the world who makes the former emperor so restless? Even the crown prince and the current emperor would behave respectfully in front of the former emperor…

 

That’s when there was a knock, and a servant entered.

 

“Excuse me. I have something urgent to report…”

 

“Do it later.” As Raios dismissively waved his hand, the servant quickly added, “There has been an accident on Saint Grave Island. A report has come in from a fishing boat passing nearby…”

 

Silence fell for a moment. Raios’s eyes hardened. Carl stopped laughing and stared at the servant intently.

 

The servant hesitated before asking, “Should I report it later?”

 

* * *

The island was in ruins.

 

“Are you okay, Dana?”

 

How could she be?

 

Dana struggled to walk along the beach, hiding her horror. It was a field of corpses. Bodies crushed by giants, bodies mauled by skeletons, and so on. All the passengers on board the Daiana had met their end. Not only that, but all the priests on the island were dead as well, exactly as Ignis had intended. Only Dana and Rumie had survived. Her heart chilled.

 

Why had Ignis gone to such lengths? How much hatred did he have for the Windsor family and the Daiana religion?

 

Ignis, you b*stard…. She was seething with anger.

 

Ignis should not have been killed so easily. She should have inflicted more pain, more suffering. Of course, if she hadn’t caught him off guard, she never would have been able to kill him, but Dana felt his death was too merciful.

 

“Don’t worry, Dana. The rescue team will be here soon.”

 

Did he think she was in despair because the passenger ship was destroyed? Rumie wrapped her trembling shoulders.

 

“I’m angry.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Ignis, that vile man. All of this is his doing.”

 

Rumie’s face tightened with tension at her words. “Did you see him on this island? Where?”

 

“I met him at the top of the tower. He’s dead now.”

 

And the top of that tower was now crushed in the grip of a giant. Probably, his corpse was buried under the debris.

 

“He couldn’t have died just like that.”

 

“I did shoot him in the head…”

 

“…In the head?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“How?”

 

“How? I just aimed the gun at his temple and shot.” She omitted the fact that she had seduced him with her beauty. There was no need to mention it.

 

“That can’t be.” Rumie seemed to find it hard to believe. There was no way he would let you shoot him in the head. If you get shot there, you’d die without a chance for recovery.

 

“…”

 

It wasn’t that he let himself be shot. Ignis didn’t notice until the gun was taken and aimed at his temple. He probably didn’t even know he was about to die.

 

Indeed. Nobody seems to know how stupid that man was. Rumie seemed to find it hard to believe that she had managed to shoot Ignis in the head and kill him.

 

“Let’s go.” Rumie took Dana’s hand and headed towards the debris of the broken tower. “We need to check his body.”

 

* * *

“He really is dead.”

 

Ignis’s body was quickly found under the rubble of the broken tower. Only after finding the gruesome corpse did Dana feel relieved. She had been dissatisfied with his too-easy and convenient death, but seeing the complete body somehow brought her peace. And then, Dana also saw the body of that girl.

 

Danael.

 

A girl who looked exactly like her. However, her body, crushed by fragments of the broken tower, was now so disfigured that her face was unrecognizable.

 

Suddenly, Dana remembered the last words the girl had spoken.

 

“As expected of Danae Windsor. Is this why everyone loves you? Is this why they expelled you from the sanctuary? Must be nice. I’m jealous!”

 

What did those words mean? Dana felt suffocated.

 

Who was this girl? And what did the sanctuary mean? And… Do I really need to look into this?

 

It was surely no ordinary matter. Unraveling this would require a lot of time and effort. If she planned to continue living as Danae, it was indeed an issue that needed to be addressed. But… I have no intention of doing so.

 

Dana planned to leave this body behind and move on. She was focusing all her efforts on that. Once she returned to the capital, the holy trial would be convened soon. It was best to focus solely on that for now to secure that ring as soon as possible…

 

“Do you know the priestess?” Rumie asked suddenly.

 

Dana replied weakly, “Didn’t I tell you there was a priestess who looked just like me? That girl must undoubtedly be my sister.”

 

“I see.”

 

What does ‘I see’ mean? Is that all? But Rumie seemed not to be focusing on her words. Suddenly, he intertwined his fingers more deeply with hers. And at that moment,

 

“Dana.”

 

“…!”

 

Dana was startled by the voice coming from behind her.

 

“Un-Uncle?”

 

Drip, drip. Carl Windsor stood there, completely drenched from head to toe. Dana was shocked. Why was this man here looking like that?

 

“How did Uncle…?”

 

“I heard there was an accident,” Carl murmured absentmindedly, looking dazed. His gaze was fixed on the intertwined hands of Rumie and Dana. “So, I came as fast as I could.”

 

Had the rescue team arrived already? No, if the rescue team had come, there would be a boat—but there was no boat to be seen anywhere along the beach. Then, could it be…

 

“Did you swim to here?”

 

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